Autobiography  of 

Allen  (Jay 


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ALLEN  JAY. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

ALLEN  JAY 

Born  1831,  Died  1910 


ILLUSTRATED 


THE  JOHN  C.  WINSTON  CO. 

Philadelphia 


Copyricht  1910.  1909.  1908,  by 
THE  JOHN  C.  WINSTON  CO. 


PUBLISHERS'  NOTE 


The  greater  portion  of  this  Autobiography 
appeared  in  The  American  Friend  during  1908 
and  1909,  but  was  carefully  revised  and  some' 
of  it  entirely  rewritten  by  the  author  for  this 
volume.  The  last  pages  were  received  from  our 
dear  friend  Allen  Jay  shortly  before  his  death, 
which  occurred  on  the  Eighth  of  Fifth  Month, 
19 10,  at  his  home,  Richmond,  Indiana. 


FOREWORD 

Having  now  entered  my  seventy-ninth  year, 
and  looking  back,  I  am  prepared  to  say,  "The  hand 
of  my  God  has  been  good  upon  me."  My  friends 
and  the  Church  have  been  pleased  to  call  me  to  fill 
some  active  positions  during  the  past  fifty  years  in 
the  Church  of  which  I  was  bom  a  member.  Having 
seen  many  changes  and  having  labored  in  various 
positions  in  the  Church  in  connection  with  others  who 
were  trying  to  build  up  the  Redeemer's  kingdom  in 
the  earth,  it  has  seemed  to  many  of  my  friends  that 
I  ought  to  leave  an  account  of  the  part  I  have  taken 
in  the  work,  of  the  changes  that  the  Church  has 
passed  through  during  these  years,  and  perhaps  a 
little  sketch  of  some  of  those  whom  I  have  met  dur- 
ing this  time.  Therefore,  with  the  hope  that  it  may 
be  of  interest  to  some  who  are  younger  and  desirous 
to  do  the  Master's  will,  I  have  consented  with  much 
reluctance  to  undertake  this  service  in  my  declining 
years.  My  greatest  reason  for  hesitation  is  the  fact 
that  I  have  taken  an  active  part  in  the  work  in  which 
I  have  been  engaged,  and  therefore  I  fear  that 
the  pronoun  "I"  may  appear  too  prominent  in  what 
I  may  have  to  say.  I  hope  to  avoid  that  as  much  as 
possible  and  to  be  able  in  all  I  have  to  say  to  give 
the  glory  to  my  Heavenly  Father,  who  called  me 
from  following  the  plow  to  enter  His  vineyard,  and 
later,  in  a  more  public  way,  to  build  up  His  kingdom. 

The  matter  in  this  volume  has  been  written  at 
odd  moments,  amid  many  other  claims  upon  my  time. 

(3) 


4  FOREWORD 

The  account  lays  no  claim  to  literary  attainment  and 
if  there  is  any  appearance  of  anything  of  that  kind 
it  is  due  to  my  faithful  stenographer,  Ruthanna 
Simms,  who  has  done  her  part  so  well,  and  to  the 
kind  assistance  of  Professor  Elbert  Russell,  both 
of  whom  have  tried  to  eliminate  the  mistakes  and 
put  the  narrative  in  proper  shape  for  the  publishers. 

I  wish  to  express  my  thanks  to  my  dear  uncle 
and  aimt,  Eli  and  Mahalah  Jay,  for  their  help  in 
furnishing  facts  and  correct  dates,  and  to  John  and 
Charles  Thomas,  of  Baltimore,  Maryland,  for  their 
assistance  in  obtaining  access  to  the  records  relating 
to  the  Baltimore  Association  work.  In  a  special 
manner,  also,  I  owe  much  to  my  dear  friend  Mary 
Mendenhall  Hobbs,  who  has  so  greatly  helped  with 
her  pen  and  with  words  of  encouragement. 

To  all  of  these  and  to  others  who  by  letters  and 
words  of  encouragement  from  this  country  and  on 
the  other  side  of  the  sea  have  aided  me,  my  heart 
goes  out  in  tender  love.  With  this  feeling  to  all 
and  for  the  Church,  I  now  commit  my  account  to  the 
reader,  pra3dng  that  God  may  bless  it  for  good. 

Allen  Jay. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER PAGE. 

I.  Ancestry  and  Family 1 1 

II.  Early  Influences:  School  and  Meet- 
ing    1 8 

III    The    Millerites   and    Spiritualists..  31 

IV.  Old  Randolph    Meeting 37 

V.  The  Work  of  my  Father  and  Others 

in  the    Ministry 45 

VI.  Origin  and  Influence  of  West  Branch 

Quarterly  Meeting 53 

VII.  Moving  to  Indiana 64 

VIII.  Early  Married  Life 74 

IX.  Beginnings  in  the  Ministry 82 

X.  The    Draft    During    the    Civil  War  95 
XI.  The  Setting  Up  of  Western   Yearly 

Meeting 99 

XII.  The  Era  of  Separation 104 

XIII.  Reflections  on  Separation 113 

XIV.  How   Nathan    Hunt    Delayed   Sepa- 

ration in  North  Carolina 120 

XV.  Visits  to  North  Carolina  and  Balti- 
more Meetings 126 

XVI.  Visiting  Friends  in  North  Carolina 

AND  Tennessee 141 

(5) 


6  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XVII.  The   Call   to  the   Work  op   the 

Baltimore  Association 147 

XVIII.  Conditions    in    Carolina   at   the 

Close  of  the  Civil  War 153 

XIX.  Work  and  Leaders  op  the  Balti- 
more Association 170 

XX.  Duties    as    Superintendent    for 

THE  Baltimore  Association....   185 
XXI.  Some  of  the   Teachers  and  Min- 
isters     196 

XXII.  Revival    Work    in    North    Caro- 
lina     205 

XXIII.  Final   Work    of    the    Baltimore 

Association 219 

XXIV.  Dr.   Nereus   Mendenhall 226 

XXV.  Delphina  E.  Mendenhall 233 

XXVI.  Preparations     for    a     Visit     to 

Great    Britain 240 

XXVII.  Among  Friends  in  Ireland.  . .  ....   244 

XXVIII.  At    London    Yearly    Meeting....   251 

XXIX.  Acquaintance  with  John  Bright.   257 
XXX.  Some  Prominent  English  Friends  267 

XXXI.  With  Friends  in  Norway 272 

XXXII.  Religious    Service     in    England 

AND    Scotland 285 

XXXIII.  With  Stanley  Pumphrey  in  Amer- 
ica     292 

XXXrV.  The  American  Friends   Board  of 

Foreign  Missions 298 


CONTENTS  7 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XXXV.  Albert     K.     Smiley     and     the 

Providence  School 311 

XXXVI.  Earlham     College     Past     and 

Present 321 

XXXVII.  The  Founding  of  Earlham  Col- 
lege     326 

XXXVIII.  Educational  and  Religious  In- 
fluence OF  Earlham 337 

XXXIX.  Filling     Various     Offices     at 

Earlham 344 

XL.  Origin     of     the     Five     Years 

Meeting 356 

XLI.  The  Origin  of  the  Bible  Insti- 
tute    364 

XLII.  The     Opening     of     California 

Yearly  Meeting 368 

XLIII.  Winter  in  Alabama  and  Florida  373 
XLIV.  Marriage    and    Visit    to    Eng- 
land and  Ireland 386 

XLV.  Helping  Guilford,  Earlham  and 

Whittier  Colleges 392 

XLVI.  From  North  Carolina  to  Puget 

Sound 407 

XLVII.  The    Five    Years    Meeting    of 

1907 415 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Allen  Jay Frontispiece. 

PAGE. 

Walter  D.  Jay  and  Mary  Jay i6 

Isaac  Jay  and  Rhoda  Jay 45 

West  Branch  Quarterly  Meeting  House...     53 

Martha  A.  Jay 74 

Residence  op  Nathan  Hunt 123 

Allen  U.  Tomlinson  and  Thomas  Jay 128 

Elihu  E.  Mendenhall 159 

Joseph  Moore 179 

The  Meeting  House  at  High  Point,  North 

Carolina 210 

Dr.    Nereus    Mendenhall    and    Delphina 

E.  Mendenhall 232 

Isaac  Brown 268 

Yearly  Meeting    House    and    Friends    at 

Stavanger,  Norway 272 

Among   the   Viten    Islands   and   Stakland 

Meeting  House 281 

Eli  Jay  and  Mahalah  Jay 304 

Naomi  H.  Jay 386 


(9) 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 


Chapter  I 

ANCESTRY  AND  FAMILY 

I  was  bom  near  the  southern  line  of  Miami 
County,  Ohio.  My  father,  Isaac  Jay  (1811-1880), 
was  bom  at  the  same  place,  and  my  mother,  Rhoda 
(Cooper)  Jay  (181 3-1 894),  was  bom  about  seven 
miles  farther  south  and  six  miles  north  of  Dayton, 
Ohio.  Their  parents  were  pioneers  in  the  settlement 
of  the  Miami  Valley,  in  southwestern  Ohio,  in  the 
opening  years  of  the  last  centiu'y.  My  father  was 
the  son  of  Walter  Denny  Jay  (i  786-1865)  and  Mary 
(Macy)  Jay  (i 787-1868).  My  Grandfather  Jay  was 
bom  in  Newberry  County,  South  Carolina,  the  son 
of  John  Jay  (1752-1829)  and  Elizabeth  (Pugh)  Jay 
(175 5-182 1).  Both  of  his  parents  were  bom  in 
Frederick  Coimty,  Virginia,  from  whence  they  emi- 
grated to  South  Carolina  about  1770  and  were 
married  at  Bush  River  Meeting  of  Friends,  Third 
month  4,  1773.  They  had  eleven  children,  seven 
sons  and  four  daughters,  bom  in  South  Carolina  in 
the  years  1773  to  1795.  The  family  removed  from 
South  Carolina  to  Ohio  in  1803,  settling  at  first  at 
Waynesville,  Warren  County,  Ohio,  and  five  years 
later  in  Miami  County,  Ohio.  All  their  eleven 
children  married  and  had  families,  and  the  average 
of  the  ages  of  nine  of  them,  the  dates  of  whose 
deaths  are  known,  is  over  sixty  years. 


12     AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

My  great-grandfather,  John  Jay,  was  the  son  of 
William  and  Mary  (Vestal)  Jay.  Mary  Vestal  was 
the  daughter  of  William  and  Elizabeth  (Mercer) 
Vestal.  The  Vestal  family  were  Friends  at  Newark 
Monthly  Meeting,  Pennsylvania,  from  whence,  about 
1730,  they  removed  and  settled  in  the  new  colony  of 
Friends,  formed  about  that  time,  near  Winchester, 
Virginia.  There  William  Jay  and  Mary  Vestal  were 
married,  about  1743.  They  were  parents  of  eight 
children,  five  sons  and  three  daughters,  bom  in  the 
years  1744  to  1765.  Little  is  known  of  this  William 
Jay  and  nothing  with  certainty  of  his  ancestry. 
He  was  probably  bom  in  Maryland,  and  died  in 
Virginia  before  the  emigration  of  the  family  from 
Virginia  to  South  Carolina,  shortly  before  the  Revo- 
lutionary War.  The  mother,  Mary  (Vestal)  Jay, 
after  living  more  than  thirty  years  in  South  Caro- 
lina, came  to  Ohio  in  1805,  where  she  lived  several 
years. 

My  great-grandmother,  EHzabeth  (Pugh)  Jay, 
was  the  daughter  of  Thomas  Pugh  (bom  1731)  and 
Ann  (Wright)  Pugh  (bom  1725),  both  natives  of 
Pennsylvania.  They  went  with  their  family  from 
Hopewell  Monthly  Meeting,  Virginia,  to  Bush 
River,  South  Carolina,  in  1769,  but  retvu*ned  to  Vir- 
ginia in  1777.  Ann  Pugh  was  an  approved  minister 
in  the  Society  of  Friends,  and,  after  their  return 
from  South  Carolina,  she  made  two  visits,  with  a 
certificate  from  Hopewell  Monthly  Meeting,  to 
Friends  in  North  and  South  Carolina,  returning 
from  the  last  visit  in  1798.  Her  husband,  Thomas 
Pugh,  accompanied  her  on  her  first  visit,  in  1784. 
He  was  the  son  of  Jesse  and  Alice  (Malin)  Pugh, 
both  of  whom  were  bom  in  Pennsylvania  in  1711 


ANCESTRY  AND  FAMILY  13 

and  removed  to  Frederick  County,  Virginia,  about 
1750.  Jesse  Pugh  was  the  grandson  of  Ellis  Pugh, 
who  was  bom  in  Wales,  1656,  and  emigrated  with 
his  family  to  Pennsylvania  in  1687,  where  he  died  in 
1 7 18.  Ellis  Pugh  was  a  minister  in  the  Society  of 
Friends,  both  in  his  native  land  and  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, preaching  in  the  Welsh  language. 

My  grandmother,  Mary  (Macy)  Jay,  was  bom  in 
Guilford  County,  North  Carolina.  She  was  the 
daughter  of  Thomas  Macy  (1765-1833)  and  Anna 
(Sweet)  Macy  (i  768-1 840).  They  were  both  bom 
in  Nantucket  Island  and  taken  to  North  Carolina  in 
childhood,  about  1 7  7  3 ,  by  their  parents.  There  they 
married  at  Deep  River  Meeting  of  Friends,  in  the 
early  part  of  the  year  1787,  and  in  1797  removed 
to  East  Tennessee.  In  1807  they  came  to  Miami 
Coimty,  Ohio.  They  had  twelve  children,  ten  of 
whom  married  and  had  good-sized  families,  the 
other  two  dying  in  childhood.  The  average  of  the 
ages  of  nine  of  these,  the  dates  of  whose  deaths  are 
known,  is  over  seventy  years. 

Thomas  Macy  was  the  son  of  Paul  Macy  (1740- 
1832)  and  Bethiah  Macy  (i  744-1810),  both  born  in 
Nantucket,  where  they  married  in  1761,  Bethiah 
dying  in  North  Carolina  and  Paul  in  Miami  County, 
Ohio.  Both  were  of  the  fifth  generation  of  the  Macy 
family  in  America,  Paul  being  the  grandson  of  the 
second  Thomas  Macy  (1687-1759),  who  was  the 
grandson  of  Thomas  Macy  (1608-1682),  the  immi- 
grant. Bethiah  Macy  was  the  granddaughter  of  the 
second  John  Macy  (1675-1751),  the  grandson  of 
Thomas  Macy,  the  immigrant,  who  was  bom  in 
Wiltshire,  England.  The  latter  came  to  America 
some  time  between  1635  and  1640,  and  settled  at 


14     AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

Salisbury,  now  Amesbury,  Massachusetts,  where  he 
lived  till  1659,  when  he  settled  in  the  Island  of 
Nantucket,  the  first  white  family  to  locate  there  in 
the  midst  of  3,000  Indians.  He  left  Amesbury  to 
avoid  the  persecution  that  fell  upon  him  because 
he  had  permitted  William  Robinson  and  Marmaduke 
Stevenson  to  lodge  in  his  house.  These  dear  Friends 
were  arrested  in  Boston  a  few  days  later,  tried  and 
condemned  and  hung  on  what  is  now  Boston  Com- 
mon, because  of  their  faithfulness  in  preaching  the 
Gospel. 

I  was  bom  the  year  before  my  great-great-grand- 
father, Paul  Macy,  died,  and,  according  to  my  mother, 
had  the  honor  of  being  held  in  his  arms  in  my  first 
year.  It  is  now  three  hundred  years  since  the  birth 
of  my  distinguished  ancestor,  Thomas  Macy,  and 
the  following  four  lives  cover  these  three  hundred 
years,  with  an  overlapping  of  eighteen  years: 
Thomas  Macy,  1608  to  1682;  his  grandson,  John 
Macy,  1675  to  1751;  great-great-grandfather,  Paul 
Macy,  1740  to  1832,  and  myself,  Allen  Jay,  1831  to 
1908. 

My  grandmother,  Mary  (Macy)  Jay,  embraces  in 
her  ancestral  lines  the  most  of  the  family  names  of 
the  early  settlers  of  Nantucket  Island.  Of  these, 
the  following  ten  may  be  given:  Austin,  Barnard, 
Bimker,  Coffin,  Coleman,  Folger,  Gardner,  Macy, 
Starbuck  and  Worth,  and  by  intermarriages  she 
was  related  to  almost  all  the  other  families  foimd  in 
Nantucket  history. 

My  mother,  Rhoda  (Cooper)  Jay,  was  the  daugh- 
ter of  Isaac  Cooper  (1774-182 5)  and  Elizabeth 
(Kennedy)  Cooper  (i 782-1859).  Isaac  and  Eliza- 
beth (Kennedy)  Cooper  came  to  Ohio  from  Georgia, 


ANCESTRY  AND  FAMILY  15 

where  they  were  probably  married.  The  Cooper 
family  came  South  from  Pennsylvania,  but  when 
we  do  not  know.  The  records  of  the  South  Caro- 
lina and  Georgia  Meetings  of  Friends  show  that  sev- 
eral of  the  name  of  Cooper  belonged  to  them  at 
different  times.  Isaac  Cooper  was  the  son  of  Isaac 
and  Prudence  Cooper,  and  Elizabeth  Kennedy  was 
the  daughter  of  John  and  Esther  Kennedy. 

I  was  the  oldest  of  five  children.  My  brother, 
Milton  Jay,  became  a  usefvd  man,  practiced  medi- 
cine for  forty  years,  was  rather  a  noted  surgeon,  and 
at  his  death  was  the  chief  surgeon  of  the  Rock  Island 
Railroad  system.  He  died  three  years  ago  in  Chi- 
cago. Brother  Walter  Denny  Jay  grew  up  a  useful. 
Christian  man,  a  farmer,  and  died  at  Marion, 
Indiana,  about  thirty  years  ago.  Brother  Abijah 
died  in  Marion,  Indiana,  May  18,  1909.  He  was  at 
one  time  County  Commissioner  of  Grant  County. 
For  a  niunber  of  years  he  was  connected  with  the 
public  school  work  and  helped  to  seciu"e  the  Marion 
Carnegie  Library.  Sister  Mary  Jay  Baldwin,  the 
youngest  of  the  family,  has  been  a  minister  in  our 
Society  for  a  niunber  of  years,  and  still  lives  at 
Marion,  Indiana. 

I  feel  that  I  owe  much  to  my  ancestors  and  to 
the  Church  which  has  done  so  much  for  me.  My 
grandparents  were  persons  of  marked  character, 
especially  my  Grandfather  Jay.  As  an  illustration 
of  his  character,  I  will  give  the  following  incidents: 
He  settled  on  a  farm  in  the  woods  of  Miami  County, 
Ohio.  It  was  customary  in  that  new  coimtry  for 
the  farmers  to  go  into  the  green  woods  and  kill  the 
green  timber  by  cutting  a  circle  around  a  tree  and 
then  leaving  it  until  it  was  dead.     This  was  called 


1 6     AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

*'  deadening. "  During  the  winter  season  they  would 
cut  down  these  dead  trees,  cut  them  off  or  bum 
them  off  at  a  suitable  length  to  roll  into  log  heaps. 
Then,  in  the  spring  of  the  year,  the  neighbors  would 
unite  and  go  to  one  farmer's  house,  taking  their 
oxen,  log  chains  and  axes,  and  spend  one,  two  or 
three  days,  as  the  number  of  acres  might  require, 
in  rolling  and  piHng  these  logs  into  heaps  to  be 
burned.  Then  they  would  go  to  the  next  neighbor 
and  spend  the  time  in  the  same  way.  Sometimes 
the  women  would  go,  also,  and  have  quiltings  at  the 
same  time.  One  spring,  when  they  had  gone  the 
rounds,  they  went  to  my  grandfather's  the  last  one, 
he  being  the  youngest  married  person  in  the  neighbor- 
hood. When  they  went  to  work  they  soon  foimd 
out  that  grandfather  had  not  provided  the  whiskey 
which  was  thought  to  be  necessary  in  those  days  at 
bam  raisings  and  log  rollings.  By  night  the  mur- 
muring had  increased,  so  that  his  father  told  him  it 
would  be  necessary  for  him  to  comply  with  the 
custom  or  the  neighbors  would  ^ot  come  back  to 
help  him  finish.  In  the  evening,  when  the  time  came 
to  quit  work,  he  got  on  top  of  a  large  stump,  and, 
calling  the  men  arovmd  him,  delivered  the  following 
speech : 

"  Neighbors,  I  have  helped  you  roll  your  logs  all 
through  the  spring,  and  have  not  tasted  your  liquor, 
and  now,  if  you  cannot  help  roll  my  logs  without 
liquor  to  drink,  you  can  go  home."  There  was  no 
liquor  brought,  but  the  logs  were  all  rolled.  So  far 
as  I  know,  this  was  the  first  temperance  speech  ever 
made  in  that  part  of  Ohio. 

Soon  after  my  marriage,  my  wife  and  I  settled  on 
a  farm  on  the  Wea  Plains,  near  the  High  Gap,  about 


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ANCESTRY  AND  FAMILY  17 

eight  miles  southwest  of  Lafayette.  There  being  a 
good  orchard  on  the  farm,  I  took  a  load  of  winter 
apples  to  the  city  to  sell  one  day.  When  I  stopped 
my  wagon  near  a  bank  in  the  city,  the  president  of 
the  bank,  who  was  called  Judge  Barbee,  came  out 
and  looked  at  them.  He  asked  me  how  many  there 
were  and  the  price.  Being  satisfied,  he  went  in  and 
got  his  hat,  came  out  and  got  on  the  wagon  and  we 
drove  to  his  house.  We  commenced  measuring 
them  out  and  his  hired  man  carried  them  into  the 
cellar.  Pretty  soon  he  asked  me  where  the  apples 
were  raised  and  what  my  name  was.  When  I  told 
him,  he  looked  at  me  and  said:  "Are  you  any 
relation  to  'old  Uncle  Denny  Jay,'  of  Miami  County, 
Ohio?"  When  I  told  him  that  I  was  his  eldest 
grandchild,  he  lay  down  the  half-bushel  and  said, 
"We  will  not  measure  another  apple.  I  will  take 
your  word  as  to  the  number  of  bushels."  When  I 
reminded  him  that  a  great  many  good  grandfathers 
had  dishonest  grandsons,  the  reply  was,  "  You  cannot 
afford  to  lie  if  you  are  his  grandson.  I  have  done 
several  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  business  with 
your  grandfather  and  we  never  had  a  scratch  of  a 
pen  between  us.  I  would  trust  his  word  for  any 
siun. "  This  reminds  us  of  the  saying  of  George 
Fox,  "Then  the  lives  of  Friends  began  to  preach. " 
It  would  be  hard  to  compose  a  sentence  more  signifi- 
cant to  a  thinking  Christian  of  to-day  than  this 
expression  of  George  Fox.  It  reminds  us  of  the 
saying,  "Thy'  life  speaks  so  loud  I  cannot  hear  thy 
words. " 


Chapter  II 

EARLY  INFLUENCES:  SCHOOL  AND 
MEETING 

Having  given  a  rather  full  genealogy  of  my 
ancestors,  especially  on  my  grandfather  and  grand- 
mother Jay's  side,  I  now  proceed  to  give  some 
account  of  my  life  and  work  in  connection  with  the 
Church  in  which  I  was  bom  a  member,  and  in  which 
I  have  labored  more  or  less  for  over  fifty  years. 

The  educational  advantages  that  surrounded  my 
early  childhood  were  those  common  to  the  new 
country  of  that  day.  There  were  no  public  schools, 
but  Friends  very  early  had  schools  started  under 
their  control.  Here  again  I  was  blessed  in  having 
a  father  who  took  more  interest  in  education  than 
many  persons  did.  He  himself,  though  not  much 
of  a  scholar,  was  chosen  to  teach  two  or  three  terms 
in  the  log  school-house  in  the  neighborhood.  It  was 
built  of  logs  on  the  plan  of  that  day,  with  openings 
cut  out  on  one  side  and  paper  pasted  over  them  for 
window  lights.  Holes  were  bored  in  the  logs  and 
a  broad  board  fastened  on  for  a  writing  desk.  When 
the  time  came  for  writing,  we  sat  on  a  high  bench 
with  our  faces  to  the  wall  so  that  the  light  from 
these  primitive  windows  might  fall  upon  our  paper. 

One  incident  in  my  early  life  showed  my  father's 
interest  in  the  education  of  his  children.  I  had  just 
commenced  going  to  school.  When  I  awoke  one 
morning  my  mother  told  me  that  I  could  not  go  to 

(i8) 


SCHOOL  AND  MEETING  19 

school  that  day,  as  it  had  been  snowing  during  the 
night  and  I  was  too  Httle  to  walk  through  the  snow 
to  the  school-house  and  father  could  not  spare  the 
time  to  take  me.  I  began  to  fret  and  cry,  because  I 
wanted  to  go.  Father  was  busy  out  in  the  bam 
threshing  wheat,  in  the  way  that  many  farmers  did 
in  those  days.  The  wheat  was  laid  down  with  the 
heads  together  in  a  circle  around  the  bam  floor,  and 
then  the  horses  were  turned  on  to  it  and  made  to 
walk  around  while  the  farmer  with  his  fork  kept  it 
stirred  up  until  the  wheat  was  all  threshed  out. 
While  I  was  pleading  with  my  mother  to  let  me  go, 
my  father  pulled  the  string,  raised  the  door-latch 
and  said,  "Where  is  Allen?"  Mother  replied,  "He 
is  here  fussing  because  he  cannot  go  to  school." 
Father  simply  said,  "  It  is  time  for  him  to  go.  Where 
is  his  dinner?"  When  mother  handed  it  to  him,  he 
got  down  on  the  porch  and  told  me  to  put  my  arms 
around  his  neck.  He  then  put  his  hands  behind 
him  to  hold  me  up,  carried  me  half  a  mile  to  the 
school-house,  set  me  down  on  the  door  step  and 
said,  "  Be  a  good  boy  and  wait  until  I  come  after 
thee  to-night."  Many  times  in  life  I  have  been 
thankful  that  I  had  a  father  who  thought  enough  of 
his  boy  to  stop  his  work  and  carry  him  to  school  on 
his  back. 

The  same  example  of  faithfulness  in  the  attend- 
ance of  meetings  for  worship  and  discipline,  on  the 
part  of  my  parents,  was  a  training  that  I  appreciate. 
It  has  been  a  strength  to  me  through  life.  Some  of 
my  earliest  recollections  are  of  being  taken  to  meet- 
ing with  the  other  children  and  made  to  sit  quietly 
through  the  meetings,  many  of  which  were  held  in 
silence.     Some    of    these    meetings    wherein    there 


20     AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

was  not  a  word  spoken  are  impressed  upon  my 
memory  to  this  day.  I  can  remember  that  while 
sitting  in  stillness  I  was  often  impressed  with  the 
desire  to  be  a  good  boy.  This  stillness  was  some- 
times broken  by  vocal  prayer,  during  which  the 
congregation  rose,  pulled  off  their  hats  and  turned 
their  backs  to  the  one  who  was  engaged  in  vocal 
prayer.  We  were  also  expected  to  bow  our  heads, 
and,  when  he  was  through,  to  sit  down  with  as  little 
noise  as  possible.  I  have  wondered  sometimes 
whether,  if  more  of  this  reverence  were  manifested 
to-day  in  time  of  vocal  prayer,  we  might  not  find  it 
beneficial.  When  the  minister  rose  to  address  the 
meeting,  there  was  attention  given  to  what  he  said 
that  is  lacking  to-day  in  many  places  when  the 
sermon  is  preached.  While  there  was  not  so  much 
doctrine  preached,  the  message  was  directed  to  the 
hearts  of  the  hearers  and  they  were  impressed  with 
the  fact  that  we  were  called  to  live  pure  and  honest 
lives,  and,  above  all,  that  God  sees  us  at  all  times. 
While  much  of  this  ministry  was  directed  to  the 
observance  of  outward  things,  yet  we  were  forcibly 
reminded  that  God  expected  us  to  obey  the  teaching 
of  His  Spirit  and  to  live  honest  and  upright  lives. 
Let  us  not  speak  lightly  of  the  ministry  of  our  fore- 
fathers. Some  of  us,  as  we  look  back  to  the  lives  of 
those  who  were  brought  up  under  their  ministry,  are 
ready  to  believe  that  they  were  God-fearing  men 
and  women.  They  were  the  salt  of  the  community 
where  they  lived  and  leaders  for  good  among  their 
fellow-men.     Their  word  was  as  good  as  a  bond. 

When  I  was  about  ten  years  old  my  parents 
moved  from  Mill  Creek  Meeting,  where  I  was  bom, 
to  Randolph  Meeting,  located  some  six  miles  north 


SCHOOL  AND  MEETING  21 

of  Da5rton,  Ohio,  and  settled  in  the  old  home  where 
my  mother  was  brought  up  and  lived  until  she  was 
married.  Here  the  course  of  my  life  continued  to 
flow  on  in  the  channels  common  to  a  farmer's  boy 
in  that  day.  My  father  was  a  hard-working  man. 
We  children  were  taught  to  labor  and  do  all  kinds 
of  work  incident  to  a  farmer's  life.  My  mother  was 
in  poor  health  and  it  fell  to  my  lot  as  the  oldest  child 
to  assist  in  the  washing  each  week.  It  was  an  im- 
written  law  that  this  had  to  be  done  on  Second-day 
morning.  For  some  two  or  three  years  I  did  the 
most  of  it  myself,  putting  the  clothes  through  the 
washing,  and  boiling,  bluing,  starching  and  hanging 
them  out  without  any  assistance,  but  I  cannot  say 
that  I  ever  enjoyed  it,  although  it  was  the  under- 
standing that  when  it  was  done  I  was  to  have  the 
remainder  of  the  day  to  fish,  hunt,  go  swimming,  or 
do  whatever  I  desired.  Life  went  on  in  this  way, 
divided  between  working  on  the  farm  in  the  summer 
and  going  to  school  in  the  winter.  Our  school- 
house  was  near  the  meeting-house.  When  the 
meeting  hour  came  on  Fifth-day,  we  all  went  in  a 
body  to  the  meeting.  Here,  again,  I  believe  our 
fathers  were  right  in  mingling  religion  with  educa- 
tion, or,  in  other  words,  in  educating  the  heart  along 
with  the  intellect.  Sometimes,  after  there  had  been 
a  long  silence,  some  one  would  rise  and  speak  so 
long  that  we  were  made  to  fear  that  the  time  for 
our  games  of  base,  town-ball,  or  bull-pen  would  be 
cut  short.  It  was  a  practical  lesson  in  patience. 
Perhaps  we  did  not  always  let  it  do  its  perfect 
work.  Be  that  as  it  may,  years  afterwards,  in 
another  State,  when  my  father  sent  me  away  from 
home  to  attend  an  academy,  where  there  was  a 


2  2     AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

Friends  Meeting  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  from 
the  school-house,  I  had  so  fixed  in  my  mind  the 
importance  of  going  to  meeting  in  the  middle  of  the 
week  that  when  the  hoiur  came  for  the  Fourth-day 
meeting,  I  arranged  with  the  principal  that  I  might 
rise  from  my  seat  and  go  out  and  attend  the  meeting. 
It  made  me  appear  a  little  like  a  speckled  bird 
among  my  schoolmates,  yet  in  walking  through  the 
woods,  going  and  coming,  the  sense  of  doing  right 
was  often  a  comfort.  Years  afterwards,  one  of  that 
number  who  had  grown  to  be  a  man  said  that  my 
example  in  this  had  first  led  him  to  consider  the 
subject  of  religion. 

Conversion 

About  the  thirteenth  year  of  my  age  there 
occurred  a  scene  in  my  life  which  stands  out  more 
vividly  than  any  other  in  the  history  of  my  attend- 
ance on  West  Branch  Quarterly  Meeting,  the 
quarter  to  which  we  belonged.  It  was  during  the 
consideration  of  the  "State  of  Society,"  as  it  was 
called,  when  they  read  the  "  Queries  and  Answers, " 
and  the  condition  of  the  Church  was  brought  in 
review  before  the  meeting.  A  Friend  arose  with 
a  concern  on  his  mind  for  some  one  who  was  present. 
With  his  face  turned  towards  the  far  comer  of  the 
house,  where  I  sat  among  the  young  people,  he 
entreated  that  we  should  yield  our  hearts  to  the 
tender  visitation  of  God's  love.  He  went  on  with 
his  loving  message,  pointing  us  to  the  Spirit  of  God 
that  would  lead  us  in  the  way  of  truth  and  righteous- 
ness. The  messenger  has  long  since  passed  away, 
but  his  message  is  not  forgotten.  The  meeting 
closed  and  I  rode  home  on  horseback  in  company 


SCHOOL  AND  MEETING  23 

with  other  young  people,  but  did  not  enjoy  the 
laughing  and  foolishness  of  the  crowd.     After  supper 
I  went  out  into  the  orchard  and  sat  down  to  pray. 
I  wanted  to  kneel  down  and  offer  prayer,  but  my 
training  was  such  that  I  felt  that  none  but  those 
called  to  public  prayer  should  kneel  down.     After 
sitting  in  silence  a  while,  I  rose  to  go  to  the  house, 
but  the  burden  was  so  great  that  I  returned  and 
vent\u-ed  to  kneel,  thereby  hoping  to  find  peace. 
Now  I  was  impressed  that  I  should  open  my  mouth 
and  speak  out  the  burden  of  my  soul.     But  here 
again  my  education  was  such  that  I  was  afraid  to 
speak  words  unless  called  to  public  ministry.     We 
had  been  told  we  could  pray  as  well  by  thinking  as 
by  speaking.     I  rose  and  started  to  the  house  again. 
The  biu-den  was  so  great  that  I  went  back  and  fell 
on  my  knees  and  broke  out  in  vocal  expression,  con- 
fessing my  sins  and  asking  God  to  forgive.     Joy 
came  to  my  soul.     Sweet  peace  filled  my  heart. 
After  waiting  a  while  to  wipe  away  the  tears  of  joy, 
I  went  into  the  house,  trying  to  hide  my  feelings. 
But  a  mother's  loving  heart  and  watchful  eye  per- 
ceived  that   something   had   come   over   her   boy. 
When  the  time  came  to  go  to  bed,  she  put  her  hand 
on  my  shoulder  and  simply  remarked  that  we  had 
had  a  good  meeting  that  day  and  she  hoped  I  would 
rest  well.     Dear  mother  wanted  to  say  more,  but 
her  training,  like  that  of  most  Friends  of  that  time, 
was  to  repress  all  religious  conversation.     I  have 
often  wondered  what  would  have  been  the  result 
had  she  taken  me  to  her  embrace  and  told  me  what 
the  change  was — that  I  had  been  converted  and 
that  God  had  heard  my  petition.     I  doubt  not  she 
prayed  for  me,  and  if  she  had  spoken  to  me  it  might 


24     AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

have  saved  me  days  of  darkness  and  doubt  in  coming 
years.  In  reviewing  this  blessed  experience  I  am 
often  impressed  with  the  fact  of  how  Httle  theology 
there  was  mixed  with  the  preaching  of  those  dear 
Friends  compared  with  the  hair-splitting  doctrines 
and  controversies  we  hear  in  some  places  in  our 
Church  to-day.  But  after  threescore  and  ten  years, 
having  seen  the  results  of  the  ministry  of  that  day, 
which  directed  our  thoughts  to  the  Spirit  of  God 
and  urged  us  to  listen  to  His  voice  as  He  called  us  to 
follow  Him,  and  comparing  it  with  the  dogmatic 
and  superficial  teaching  of  some  of  the  present  day, 
who  point  us  to  their  own  experience  in  spiritual 
things,  I  am  ready  to  say  that  our  fathers'  ministry 
produced  men  and  women  of  ability  and  Christian 
character  which  I  sometimes  fear  are  not  produced 
by  the  methods  of  the  modem  revivalist.  They 
were  men  and  Women  who  were  the  salt  of  the  earth, 
who  walked  the  earth  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord  and 
kept  themselves  unspotted  from  the  world. 

Family  fVorship 

Soon  after  these  occurrences,  another  took  place 
which  strengthened  my  religious  life.  My  father 
had  a  hard  spell  of  sickness  which  lasted  several 
weeks.  I  heard  the  doctor  say  to  my  mother  one 
evening  when  leaving,  "  I  fear  your  husband  will  not 
get  well."  When  I  stood  by  the  bed  that  night, 
before  retiring,  father  said  to  me,  "Be  a  good  boy 
and  help  mother  all  thee  can."  It  was  not  custo- 
mary in  those  days,  in  that  community,  even  among 
Christians,  to  have  family  worship.  However,  I 
heard  my  father  say  to  mother,  "  If  I  get  well,  we 
will  have  religious  services  in  the  house."     Two  or 


SCHOOL  AND  MEETING  25 

three  weeks  later,  one  night,  mother  brought  a 
rocking-chair,  placed  a  bed-qmlt  over  it,  and 
pillows  upon  it,  and  then,  going  to  the  bed,  helped 
my  father  out  and  led  him  to  the  chair.  She 
brought  the  Bible,  and  while  we  children  sat  around 
father  read  a  few  verses  from  it.  Then  he  asked 
mother  to  help  him  down  on  his  knees.  She  knelt 
by  his  side  and  held  him  while  he  offered  vocal 
prayer.  I  have  seen  many  beautiful  paintings  that 
have  cost  large  sums  of  money,  but  no  picture  is 
more  vivid  and  beautiful  in  my  memory  than  that 
of  mother  holding  father  while  he  prayed.  I  do  not 
remember  much  of  that  prayer,  but  the  words,  "  God 
bless  Allen  and  make  him  a  good  boy, "  have  followed 
me  over  land  and  sea.  I  pity  the  child  who  has 
never  heard  his  father  pray. 

I  would  not  convey  the  idea  that  because  the 
Friends  of  that  day  did  not  read  the  Bible  in  family 
worship,  that  they  never  read  the  Bible.  Many  of 
them  read  it  much.  Many  of  us  can  call  to  mind 
how  grandfather  and  grandmother  read  the  Bible, 
with  a  solemn  tone,  similar  to  that  in  which  many 
of  the  ministers  of  that  day  delivered  their  messages, 
and  their  old  Bibles  lying  upon  the  shelf  to-day  are 
well  worn  with  much  use. 

It  may  appear  strange  that  my  father  was  often 
found  fault  with  for  introducing  family  worship 
into  our  house.  Some  Friends  were  uneasy,  fearing 
it  might  result  in  reading  the  Bible  formally  and 
having  formal  worship.  One  dear  Friend,  whose 
name  I  will  not  mention,  traveling  on  a  religious 
visit,  stopped  with  us  over  night.  When  father 
brought  out  the  Bible  and  remarked  that  it  was  our 
custom  to  read  before  going  to  bed,  he  made  the 


2  6     AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

remark,  "  I  suppose  it  will  not  hurt  me  to  sit  and 
listen  to  it."  The  next  day,  at  quarterly  meeting, 
he  preached,  but  it  did  me  no  good.  I  did  not  want 
to  hear  him,  for  I  knew  what  it  had  cost  my  father  to 
introduce  this  practice  in  his  family. 

Ft  siting  Friends 

The  hospitality  of  Friends  in  those  days  was 
something  to  look  back  to  with  pleasure.  Our  home 
was  on  the  direct  line  between  Miami  and  West 
Branch  Quarterly  Meetings.  We  always  expected 
a  number  of  Friends  the  night  before  quarterly 
meeting  from  Center  and  Miami,  as  well  as  Friends 
traveling  in  the  ministry.  Among  these  I  recall 
the  names  of  Thomas  Evans,  Joseph  Doan,  Asher 
Brown,  Samuel  Steddom,  Abram  Taylor,  Joseph 
Taylor  (who  afterwards  founded  Bryn  Mawr  Col- 
lege) and  many  others.  Very  often  with  these 
would  be  a  company  of  Friends  from  other  yearly 
meetings,  such  as  Joseph  D.  Hoag,  John  and  Eliza- 
beth Meader  and  Benjamin  Seebohn.  These  were 
days  that  we  looked  forward  to  with  interest. 
Everywhere  was  activity,  in  the  house  and  outside, 
getting  ready  to  welcome  the  company.  It  was  a 
feature  in  my  home  life  that  had  much  to  do  with 
shaping  it  for  the  Church.  I  have  known  as  many  as 
thirty  visitors  to  stay  all  night  at  my  father's.  We 
boys  learned  to  sleep  on  the  floor,  giving  up  our 
beds  to  others.  The  young  people  among  the 
visitors  shared  the  floor  with  us.  After  supper  I 
enjoyed  sitting  in  the  comer  and  listening  to  the 
conversation  about  the  Church  and  its  work,  inter- 
spersed with  anecdotes  about  noted  Friends,  espe- 
cially about  the  ministers  and  their  work  and  travels. 


SCHOOL  AND  MEETING  27 

It  was  very  instructive.  It  was  a  history  of  the 
past  that  had  been  handed  down  from  one  genera- 
tion to  another.  The  Friends  who  could  tell  the 
most  stories  and  create  the  most  laughter  were  our 
heroes,  especially  if  they  noticed  us  and  laid  their 
hands  upon  our  heads  or  asked  us  how  old  we  were, 
or  some  other  commonplace  question.  We  never 
thought  of  getting  sleepy,  but  as  it  grew  late,  some 
one  would  suggest  that  it  was  near  bedtime.  Then 
the  Bible  was  brought  out,  father  would  read  a 
portion  of  Scripture  and  we  dropped  into  silence. 
After  a  little  perhaps  some  one  or  two  might  engage 
in  vocal  prayer,  and  perhaps  another  might  feel 
'called  to  express  a  word  in  the  line  of  the  ministry, 
in  the  way  of  encouragement  and  advice,  and  some- 
times a  word  might  be  spoken  directly  to  us  children. 
This  was  called  a  "  religious  opportunity  before  going 
to  bed."  Let  no  one  be  surprised  that  these  occa- 
sions live  in  the  memory  of  those  of  us  who  are 
growing  old. 

The  Underground  Railroad 

Sometimes  the  discussions  would  develop  a 
difference  of  opinion  on  some  subject  claiming  the 
attention  of  the  Church.  There  were  sometimes 
two  or  three  beds  in  one  room,  and  one  night  two 
Friends  who  slept  in  the  bed  near  where  my  brother 
and  I  were  sleeping  kept  up  a  long  conversation  on 
the  subject  of  the  "Underground  Railroad,"  and 
the  practice  that  some  Friends  engaged  in  of  helping 
the  runaway  slaves  to  reach  a  place  of  safety.  To 
my  young  Friends,  who  may  not  understand  the 
"Underground  Railroad"  of  that  day,  it  may  be 
explained  that  it  was  a  system  of  helping  runaway 


28     AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

slaves  from  one  "station"  to  another,  generally  at 
night,  until  they  reached  Canada  or  some  other  place 
of  safety.  My  father's  house  was  one  of  the  stations 
on  this  "railroad,"  and  while  these  dear  Friends 
were  discussing  the  propriety  of  engaging  in  this 
work,  one  of  them  feeling  that  it  was  hardly  the 
right  thing  to  do,  while  the  other  upheld  the  prac- 
tice, my  mind  was  actively  engaged  in  thinking; 
for  a  few  days  before  this  our  family  physician,  who 
was  an  Abolitionist,  had  ridden  up  to  the  gate, 
called  my  father  out  and  told  him  that  there  was  a 
runaway  slave  out  in  the  woods  nearby,  and  that  he 
was  being  pursued  by  his  master  and  others.  I 
heard  the  conversation  and  understood  its  meaning, 
though  I  was  young.  He  rode  off  and  my  father 
turned  to  me  and  said,  "  I  am  going  out  back  of  the 
house  to  work.  If  any  negro  comes  to  the  gate  thee 
can  take  him  down  in  the  cornfield  and  hide  him 
under  that  big  walnut  tree,  but  thee  is  not  to  tell 
me  or  any  one  else. "  As  the  com  was  very  tall  in 
the  bottom,  no  one  could  see  him.  -  In  a  little  while 
the  poor  man  came,  with  his  bleeding  feet  and 
ragged  clothes,  looking  around  and  showing  that  he 
was  very  much  frightened.  I  went  to  him  and  told 
him  I  would  hide  him.  At  first  he  was  afraid  of  me 
and  asked  me  if  I  was  Mr.  Jay's  son,  and  when  I  told 
him  I  was  he  followed  me.  I  took  him  down  to  the 
walnut  tree  and  told  him  to  remain  there  until  I 
came  after  him.  He  said,  "  I  am  hungry.  I  want 
a  drink."  I  told  him  I  would  look  after  that. 
When  I  got  back  to  the  house  mother  was  in  the 
kitchen  fixing  up  a  dinner  in  a  basket.  I  knew 
what  that  meant  without  asking  any  questions. 
Pretty  soon  she  simply  said  to  me,  "Allen,  if  thee 


SCHOOL  AND  MEETING  29 

knows  anybody  who  thee  thinks  is  hungry,  thee 
might  take  this  basket  to  him. "  I  started  out  with 
it  and  a  jug  of  milk  and  went  to  the  cornfield.  The 
poor  man  heard  me  coming  through  the  com,  and, 
not  knowing  whether  I  was  friend  or  foe,  had  his 
pistol  ready  to  shoot  when  I  drew  in  sight.  The 
moment  he  saw  me  he  commenced  smiling.  I  left 
my  load  with  him  with  the  promise  that  perhaps  I 
would  come  after  him  about  dark.  During  the 
afternoon,  the  men  who  were  pursuing  him  came 
up  to  the  gate  and  called.  They  asked  my  father 
if  he  had  seen  a  "nigger"  going  by.  He  truthfully 
said  he  had  not.  I  kept  out  of  sight.  They 
threatened  to  search  the  house.  Father  told  them 
they  were  welcome  to  do  so,  provided  they  had  the 
proper  authority.  After  talking  roughly  for  a  while, 
they  rode  off  in  a  hurry.  That  evening,  just  as  it 
was  growing  dark,  my  father  hitched  up  "  Old  Jack" 
to  the  buggy  and  tied  him  in  the  barnyard.  He 
then  came  into  the  house  and  asked  me  how  I  would 
like  to  go  to  my  grandfather's.  Understanding 
what  he  meant,  I  told  him  I  would  be  very  willing 
to  go.  He  added,  "  If  thee  knows  of  anybody  thee 
thinks  ought  to  go,  thee  had  better  take  him  along. " 
I  went  out  and  closed  the  door  and  soon  had  the 
negro  in  the  buggy  with  me.  The  poor  fellow  could 
see  that  I  felt  a  little  afraid  to  be  with  him  alone, 
and  asked  me  if  I  were  not.  When  I  did  not  give  a 
positive  answer,  he  said,  "  If  you  are  afraid  of  me, 
I  will  let  you  carry  the  pistol."  After  we  got 
started,  he  said,  "  If  anyone  comes  to  take  me,  you 
must  stop  and  give  me  the  pistol,  I  will  get  out  and 
you  drive  on,  for  I  do  not  want  you  to  be  hurt. 
I  am  never  going  to  be  taken  back.     They  may  kill 


30     AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

me,  but  I  intend  to  kill  one  first."  As  I  looked  at 
the  poor  man  and  saw  his  condition,  for  he  had 
shown  me  his  lacerated  back  that  had  been  cut  by 
the  whip,  I  did  not  tell  him  that  it  was  wrong  to 
shoot.  Neither  did  I  stop  to  give  him  a  lecture  on 
peace  principles.  About  lo  o'clock  we  reached  my 
grandfather's.  I  went  to  the  door  and  told  him 
what  was  up.  He  understood  the  situation.  He  at 
once  called  my  uncle,  Levi  Jay,  and  in  about  thirty 
minutes  each  one  was  on  a  horse  on  their  way  to 
Mercer  County,  where  there  was  a  large  settlement 
of  negroes,  which  was  another  important  "  station. " 
We  learned  afterwards  that  he  reached  Canada 
safely. 


Chapter  III 

THE  MILLERITES  AND  SPIRITUALISTS 

As  I  have  already  said,  at  this  time  I  was  very- 
much  interested  in  religious  subjects  and  was  ready 
to  listen  to  all  I  might  hear  on  religious  doctrine. 
My  experiences  ought  to  be  a  lesson  to  parents  to 
be  careful  about  whom  they  employ,  who  will  be 
associated  with  their  children.  My  father  had  a 
hired  man  on  the  farm  with  whom  I  had  to  work. 
It  was  at  the  time  of  the  Millerite  excitement  in 
regard  to  the  end  of  the  world  and  the  second  coming 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  This  was  in  1843.  He 
was  in  the  habit  of  attending  their  meetings  of 
nights,  became  convinced  of  their  doctrine  and 
believed  that  they  had  predicted  the  exact  time  of 
His  personal  coming.  He  was  able  to  quote  their 
interpretation  of  the  Scriptures  in  the  language  of 
their  ministers.  He  told  me  that  some  of  their 
members  were  preparing  their  white  robes  in  order 
that  they  might  be  ready  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air 
at  His  coming.  I  became  deeply  impressed  and 
desirous  that  I  might  also  be  ready.  When  the 
morning  of  the  day  came,  on  which  they  had  prophe- 
sied that  He  would  come  at  twelve  o'clock,  I  felt 
little  like  eating  breakfast.  After  we  had  finished 
eating,  father,  who  was  going  away  from  home  that 
day,  pointed  to  the  woodpile  and  told  me  he  wanted 
me  to  chop  and  pile  up  that  wood  while  he  was  gone. 
He  noticed  that  there  was  something  the  matter  and 

(31) 


32      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

asked  me  if  I  was  sick.  I  answered  "No."  But 
mother,  who  understood  something  of  her  boy's 
feelings,  followed  him  into  the  room  and  told  him 
what  she  believed  was  the  matter.  He  came  to  me 
and  told  me  that  he  hoped  I  woiild  not  be  uneasy, 
for  he  remembered  several  times  having  been  set 
for  the  ending  of  the  world  since  he  was  a  boy,  and 
that,  in  his  opinion,  I  had  better  chop  the  wood,  for 
he  thought  we  should  need  it  next  winter  to  bum. 
He  went  away  and  I  went  to  the  woodpile,  but  had 
no  heart  for  the  work,  for  I  felt  if  all  things  were 
coming  to  an  end  at  noon  we  would  not  need  the 
wood  and  I  had  better  be  thinking  about  something 
else.  For  me  it  was  a  serious  time.  I  shall  never 
forget  my  feelings.  I  could  not  work.  Near  twelve 
o'clock  I  sat  down  on  a  log,  waiting  to  hear  the  old- 
fashioned  family  clock  strike  the  hour.  When  it 
began,  I  looked  up,  looked  all  around,  and  after 
waiting  a  few  minutes  and  seeing  no  change,  my 
mind  was  relieved,  and  that  afternoon  I  chopped 
wood  with  a  lighter  heart  than  I  ever  had  before, 
and  by  night  had  it  all  piled  up  nicely.  That  wood 
was  burned  up  more  than  threescore  years  ago,  and 
now  sometimes  when  I  hear  people  telling  that  the 
time  is  near  at  hand  when  He  is  coming,  I  think 
that  the  Church  had  better  go  on  chopping  wood 
and  remember  that  our  Saviour  said:  "No  man 
knoweth  the  time;  no,  not  even  the  Son  of  Man." 
As  a  further  illustration  of  the  influence  that  may 
be  exerted  upon  children  by  those  who  are  in  the 
employ  of  their  parents,  I  will  mention  another 
instance  in  my  religious  experience  which  made  a 
deep  and  solemn  impression  upon  my  mind.  I  can 
never  look  back  to  it  without  thankfulness  that  I 


MILLERITES  AND  SPIRITUALISTS     33 

was  delivered  from  temptation.  It  was  at  the  time 
when  what  they  called  spirit  rappings  were  being 
introduced,  and  a  person  who  claimed  to  be  a 
spiritual  medium  and  to  converse  with  those  who 
were  dead,  persuaded  me  secretly  to  meet  with  a 
few  of  that  class  and  to  take  part  in  their  exercises. 
To  be  sure,  my  parents  knew  nothing  of  it.  Neither 
did  they  know  that  I  was  fvimished  with  books  and 
pamphlets  on  this  subject  and  literature  that  dis- 
carded the  Bible  and  endeavored  to  point  out  the 
inconsistency  of  its  teaching.  For  nearly  two  years 
I  was  more  or  less  under  this  influence.  I  look 
back  to  it  as  a  time  of  spiritual  darkness.  I  lost 
the  freshness  of  my  religious  experience  and  no 
longer  enjoyed  our  religious  meetings.  But  all  this 
time  there  was  a  fearfiil  feeling  that  made  me  uneasy 
and  restless.  One  First-day  I  had  been  lying 
upon  my  bed  during  the  afternoon,  reading  some 
of  this  literature.  As  it  began  to  grow  too  dark 
to  read  I  laid  down  the  paper,  and  as  I  did  so  the 
thought  came  to  me,  "  Perhaps  there  is  a  reality  in 
the  religion  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  the 
Bible  may  be  true,  and  what  I  have  been  reading 
may  be  false. "  This  impression  came  upon  me  with 
such  force  that  I  buried  my  face  in  the  pillow  and 
exclaimed,  "Oh  Lord,  I  want  to  know  the  truth. 
I  don't  want  to  be  deceived.  Show  me  what  is 
right."  I  lay  still  for  a  little  while,  and  do  not 
know  to  this  day  whether  I  fell  asleep  or  not,  but 
this  I  do  know,  that  all  at  once  it  came  to  me  that 
I  was  standing  in  an  open  plain,  with  nothing  in 
sight  but  the  earth  beneath  and  sky  above.  As  I 
stood  there,  it  appeared  to  me,  a  large  building  rose 
in  front  of  me.     It  was  so  large  that  the  ends  were 


34     AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

lost  to  sight,  and  so  high  that  the  top  appeared  to  be 
hidden  in  a  cloud  of  glory.  As  I  stood  listening  to 
the  music  that  I  heard  coming  through  the  clouds 
from  the  top  of  the  building,  one  mOre  beautiful 
than  any  I  had  ever  seen,  like  unto  the  Son  of  Man, 
approached  me  and  said,  "My  child,  what  art  thou 
doing? "  I  told  him  I  was  listening  to  the  music  that 
came  from  the  top  of  yonder  building.  He  said, 
"Eye  hath  not  seen  nor  ear  heard  what  the  Lord 
hath  for  those  who  reach  that  place. "  I  said,  "  I 
am  going  up  there. ' '  He  then  pointed  to  the  only 
door  there  was  in  the  whole  building.  It  was  narrow 
and  was  overshadowed  by  cherubim.  I  went  with 
all  the  intense  purpose  with  which  a  young  Christian 
ever  starts  on  his  Christian  journey.  No  sooner 
had  I  started  up  the  stairs  than  the  doors  began  to 
open  upon  the  right  and  upon  the  left,  and  from 
each  door  some  one  was  calling  me  to  come  in.  I 
kept  on,  but  went  more  and  more  slowly  until  I 
stopped,  with  one  foot  on  the  next  step.  A  voice 
at  my  left  hand  said,  "Where  are  you  going?"  I 
told  him  I  was  going  out  on  top  of  the  building.  He 
replied  that  we  were  all  going  to  the  same  place  and 
that  there  were  innumerable  rooms  in  this  great 
building,  and  much  to  be  seen  and  learned  and 
enjoyed  upon  the  way,  and  at  his  earnest  persuasion 
I  entered  into  the  room,  which  I  found  was  devoted 
to  historical  research;  but  I  soon  grew  tired  of  his 
portrayal  of  the  beauty  and  elevating  effect  to  be 
found  in  his  department  and  said  I  wanted  to  go 
back.  Immediately  another  door  opened  a  little 
further  away,  and  some  one  beckoned  me  in  there. 
This  room  was  devoted  to  geological  research,  and 
here  again  the  occupant  endeavored  to  interest  me 


MILLERITES  AND  SPIRITUALISTS     35 

in  the  history  and  formation  of  the  world,  but  I  soon 
grew  tired  and  said  I  wanted  to  go  back.     Then 
another  door  opened  further  off  and  I  was  invited 
to  another  room,  where  I  was  told  I  would  be  sure  to 
be   satisfied.     This,    I   believe,   was  given   over  to 
theological   discussions   and   religious   controversy. 
I  soon  tired  of  that  and  was  starting  to  return  when 
another  opened,  and  I  entered  a  room  of  pleasure 
and  beauty  and  was  shown  the  happiness  there  was 
in  worldly  enjoyments;  but,  as  before,  I  was  tired 
and  sick  and  turned  my  face  to  go  back  when  another 
room  opened  and  another  voice  called  me.     This 
room  was  just  as  unsatisfactory  as  the  others,  and 
the  same  was  continued  until  I  had  passed  through 
six  or  seven  rooms.     I  became  utterly  tired  and 
overwhelmed  with  sorrow  that  I  had  ever  left  the 
straight  stairway  that  led  up  to  the  top,  and  I  ex- 
claimed, "What  shall  I  do  and  where  shall  I  go.?" 
as  I  discovered  that  the  doors  through  which  I  had 
passed  had  all  been  locked  when  I  entered.     All  at 
once  where  I  was  became  darkness.     I  tried  to  find 
the  door  by  going  around  and  feeling  on  the  walls. 
The  walls  were  iron,  the  ceiling  overhead  was  iron 
and  the  floor  was  iron.     In  despair,  I  fell  on  my  face 
and  exclaimed,   "I  am  lost,   I  am  lost."     Words 
would  fail  to  describe  my  feelings  at  that  moment. 
I  can  never  think  of  them  without  a  shudder.     As  I 
lay  weeping,  I  heard  a  gentle  noise.     I  raised  my 
eyes  and  there  stood  one  like  unto  the  Son  of  Man, 
with  tears  on  his  cheeks.     He  stooped  and  placed 
his  hand  upon  my  head  and  said,  "  Arise,  follow  me." 
I  arose  and  followed  Him.    He  took  me  back  through 
every  room  that  I  had  passed  through,  and  as  he 
approached  the  doors  opened  of  themselves.     He 


36     AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

took  me  down  to  the  door  where  I  had  started  from, 
laid  his  hand  upon  my  head  and  said,  "  Now  follow 
thou  me."  I  remember  well,  as  he  started  up  the 
steps,  I  watched  his  feet  and  endeavored  to  put  mine 
in  his  footsteps  as  we  went  up.  Soon  after  we 
started  the  doors  began  to  open  on  either  side  as 
before.  I  remember  putting  my  fingers  in  my  ears 
that  I  might  not  hear  the  voices.  When  we  reached . 
the  top  he  took  me  in  his  arms  and  said  to  the 
redeemed,  as  they  gathered  round  him  in  praise, 
"Another  soul  has  been  redeemed,"  and  presented 
me  to  them.  The  joy  was  so  great  that  I  was  roused 
from  my  dream  or  vision,  whichever  it  may  have 
been,  and  found  myself  weeping  for  joy.  I  lay 
quiet  for  a  moment,  feeling  that  this  was  a  revela- 
tion to  me  in  answer  to  my  prayer.  I  rose  from  my 
bed,  took  the  spiritualistic  papers  to  the  fireplace 
and  burned  them  up.  The  books  that  I  had  bor- 
rowed I  returned  to  their  owners  as  soon  as  possible 
and  announced  to  the  man  who  had  influenced  me 
to  attend  their  circles  that  I  should  do  so  no  more. 
I  have  hesitated  to  write  down  this  experience  for 
fear  it  might  seem  to  make  too  much  of  dreams 
and  visions.  But  I  feel  that,  however  it  is  to  be 
explained,  that  dream  was  the  means  by  which  I 
was  led  back  to  walk  in  His  footsteps  who  said,  "  I 
am  the  Way,  the  Truth  and  the  Life. " 


Chapter  IV 

OLD  RANDOLPH  MEETING 

Perhaps  a  description  of  the  meeting  where  I 
spent  my  boyhood  days  may  be  interesting  to  some 
of  my  young  readers.  Like  many  of  the  country 
meetings  seventy-five  years  ago,  it  was  located  at 
the  side  of  the  road  in  a  grove.  This  we  find  was  the 
case  in  most  of  the  yearly  meetings,  and  especially 
was  this  true  in  the  South.  Often  these  meeting- 
houses were  so  hidden  that  you  would  not  see  them 
until  you  came  very  near,  or  would  be  revealed  to 
you  by  seeing  the  horses  tied  to  the  trees  or  to  a 
swinging  limb  overhead.  The  hiding  of  the  meet- 
ing-houses may  have  resulted  from  the  fact  that  the 
early  Friends  in  England,  on  account  of  persecution, 
built  back  from  the  streets  so  that  they  were  hidden 
by  high  walls  or  other  btdldings.  In  some  places 
they  would  pass  through  a  gate;  in  other  place 
under  a  covered  archway  into  an  open  court  to  reach 
the  meeting-house.  In  some  instances  in  our 
country  this  building  of  our  meeting-houses  in 
secluded  places  has  resulted  in  some  feeling  when  it 
has  been  proposed  to  move  the  location  to  a  more 
central  place  where  more  people  could  reach  the 
house  with  less  travel.  It  should  be  the  rule,  in 
locating  a  house  for  worship,  to  build  it  where  the 
greatest  number  can  reach  it  with  the  least  travel. 
God  will  meet  where  two  or  three  are  met  in  His 
name.     Our  little  brick  meeting-house  at  Randolph, 

(37) 


38     AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

like  many  others,  was  built  in  a  grove,  with  many- 
trees  on  all  sides  of  it.  One  particularly  large  beech 
tree,  filled  with  nuts  nearly  every  season,  I  especially 
remember.  A  large  oak  tree  had  been  cut  down  in 
front  of  the  house,  and  the  body  of  the  tree  had 
never  been  cut  up.  There  we  boys  gathered  and 
talked  over  things  pertaining  to  our  neighborhood 
and  other  things  that  interested  us  until  "meeting 
set."  We  had  no  First-day  school  in  those  days, 
as  most  Friends  in  that  part  of  Ohio  did  not.  The 
"setting  of  meeting"  was  indicated  by  the  older 
Friends  going  into  the  meeting-house,  taking  the 
little  children  with  them  and  seating  them  by  their 
sides.  We  older  children  arranged  ourselves  as  we 
saw  proper,  but  we,  too,  were  under  the  watchful 
eyes  of  our  parents.  Inside  of  the  house  were  rows 
of  seats,  which,  in  our  meeting-house,  were  better 
than  some  others,  because  they  had  backs  to  the 
benches,  though  our  feet  did  not  reach  the  floor  until 
we  got  to  be  big  boys.  There  were  three  seats  facing 
the  body  of  the  meeting.  The  first  and  second  were 
called  "  facing  seats, "  the  upper  one  the  "  top  seat.' ' 
The  top  seat  had  the  ministers  and  sometimes  some 
of  the  elders  sitting  upon  it.  The  next  two  were 
filled  with  older  Friends,  whose  lives  had  been  such 
that  they  were  deemed  worthy  to  occupy  them. 
The  inside  of  the  house  was  divided  by  a  partition 
called  "shutters."  The  women  sat  on  one  side  of 
this  partition  and  the  men  on  the  other.  About  the 
usual  length  of  time  for  meetings  for  worship  was 
occupied  with  the  "shutters  open,"  on  days  for 
business  meetings,  during  which  words  in  the  min- 
istry, in  exhortation  or  vocal  prayer,  were  sometimes 
heard.    Then  the  Friend  who  sat  head  of  the  meet- 


OLD  RANDOLPH  MEETING  39 

ing  would  rise  and  say  that  if  "  Friends'  minds  were 
easy, ' '  he  thought  the  shutters  might  be  closed  and 
we  might  proceed  with  the  business  of  the  meeting. 
Ours  was  a  "Preparative  Meeting"  only,  a  meeting 
so  called  because  it  was  intended  to  prepare  and  get 
in  shape  business  to  be  forwarded  to  the  monthly 
meeting  and  other  matters  of  a  local  character  per- 
taining to  our  special  meeting.  The  closing  of  the 
shutters  in  our  particular  meeting-house  was  not 
always  easy.  Sometimes  the  rope  would  get  off  of 
the  pulley  or  a  rope  at  one  end  would  break.  In 
such  cases  as  this  we  boys  would  have  to  wait  for 
an  older  person  to  come  and  help.  When  this  was 
all  done  the  clerk  proceeded  with  the  business  by 
reading  the  minutes  of  last  meeting.  Often  there 
was  business  in  common  to  both  men's  and  women's 
meetings,  which  was  carried  from  one  clerk's  table 
to  that  of  the  other  by  "messengers" — a  man 
representing  our  side  and  a  woman  the  women's  side. 
To  us  of  the  present  day  the  question  naturally 
arises:  why  did  they  not  transact  the  business 
together,  without  separating  one  sex  from  the  other.? 
To  those  who  have  studied  the  religious  history  of 
the  times,  when  George  Fox  was  "moved,"  as  he 
says,  "by  the  Lord,  to  establish  women's  meetings 
of  business,  "  the  wonder  is  rather  that  he  gave  them 
the  privilege  of  holding  meetings  and  looking  after 
the  interests  of  the  Church  as  far  as  he  did.  John 
Bright  said  to  me  at  one  time,  when  we  were  standing 
on  a  hill  where  George  Fox  had  once  preached  to  a 
great  multitude,  "He  was  the  greatest  reformer  the 
world  has  ever  seen  since  the  days  of  the  apostles. 
He  saw  more  clearly  what  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel 
wotild  lead  to  than  any  other  of  the  so-called  re- 


40     AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

formers.  He  not  only  saw  that  the  Gospel  would 
do  away  with  war,  slavery,  oaths,  but  that  it  would 
also  give  freedom  of  conscience  and  establish 
religious  liberty.  In  doing  this,  woman  would  be 
liberated  from  her  spiritual  bondage  and  would  be 
given  a  part  in  preaching  the  Gospel  of  Christ." 
While  at  first  their  meetings  for  business  were  con- 
fined mostly  to  looking  after  the  interests  of  the 
women  of  the  Church,  relieving  their  sufferings  and 
having  an  oversight  of  the  sick  and  those  in  prison, 
their  influence  soon  began  to  grow.  They  held 
their  meetings  at  the  same  time  that  men  Friends 
held  theirs;  much  business  grew  up  in  common  and 
they  appointed  committees  which  worked  jointly  in 
carrying  forward  the  work  of  the  Church,  until  now 
they  are  recognized  as  being  an  important  branch 
of  the  Church,  and  no  one  would  think  of  giving 
them  a  minor  position.  The  future  historian  will 
see  the  "hand  of  the  Lord"  in  the  establishing  of 
the  women's  meetings,  as  George  Fox  believed.  Not 
only  have  Friends  been  blessed,  but  the  world  has 
derived  a  benefit  from  this  training  which  our 
women  received.  It  was  nothing  vmusual  on  boards 
of  charity,  hospital  boards,  boards  of  homes  for  the 
friendless  and  W.  C.  T.  U.  meetings,  to  hear  the 
expression,  "  You  Quaker  women  have  been  trained 
and  you  know  how  to  lead  the  meetings  of  these 
organizations  better  than  we  do."  But  above  and 
beyond  all  that,  the  ministry  of  our  women  Friends 
has  been  so  fruitful  of  results  that  the  women  of 
other  churches  have  felt  the  call  to  preach  the  Gospel 
of  Christ.  Some  have  already  entered  the  open  door 
and  others  are  waiting  for  the  door  to  open.  Sooner 
or  later,  all  the  churches  will  have  to  acknowledge 


OLD  RANDOLPH  MEETING  41 

that  the  Lord  "  pours  out  His  spirit  on  the  daughters 
as  well  as  the  sons, "  I  trust  that  the  women  of  our 
Church  may  never  think  lightly  of  their  inheritance. 
The  method  of  conducting  our  business  meetings 
was  different  from  that  of  any  other  organization. 
At  times  a  subject  would  be  discussed  for  some  time, 
and  then  the  clerk  wovdd  read  his  minute,  giving,  as 
he  believed,  the  "sense  of  the  meeting"  or  the 
"weight  of  the  discussion."  Sometimes  this  judg- 
ment would  be  on  the  side  of  the  minority  and 
against  the  majority  who  had  spoken.  Generally 
unity  was  expressed  with  the  minute  the  clerk  had 
read.  Often  it  was  felt  that  the  clerk  had  been 
favored  to  go  beyond  the  words  that  had  been 
spoken  and  to  reach  a  decision  in  harmony  with  the 
mind  of  Truth,  At  other  times  the  clerk's  minute 
would  read  something  like  this:  "The  way  does  not 
open  to  proceed  in  the  matter. "  In  such  cases  the 
matter  would  be  dropped  or  laid  over  for  future 
consideration.  This  manner  of  settling  the  ques- 
tions that  came  before  our  meetings  for  business 
generally  proved  more  satisfactory  than  the  modem 
plan  where  voting  has  been  substituted  in  the  place 
of  it,  where  spiritual  matters  are  decided  by  numbers 
rather  than  by  spiritual  experience  and  mature 
judgment.  After  a  pretty  wide  observation,  I  am 
inclined  to  the  belief  that  the  decisions  thus  arrived 
at  were  more  harmonious  and  tended  more  to  the 
tmity  of  the  Church  than  the  voting  system.  There 
was  no  room  for  pulling  and  scheming,  and  it  rarely 
left  anything  bitter  and  unpleasant  as  the  result. 
It  made  a  Friends  meeting  for  business  different 
from  that  of  any  other  religious  organization.  The 
late    Charles    Spurgeon,    after    attending    London 


42     AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

Yearly  Meeting  a  few  years  before  he  died,  remarked 
something  Hke  this:  "It  is  the  most  solemn  and 
deliberate  body  in  the  transaction  of  its  business 
that  I  have  ever  been  permitted  to  attend.  Its 
decisions  are  arrived  at  more  harmoniously  and 
with  less  discussion  and  friction  than  I  have  ever 
witnessed  in  other  religious  organizations."  It 
must  be  admitted  that  it  required  a  spiritually- 
minded  clerk,  one  who  could  sink  himself  out  of 
sight  and  get  the  judgment  of  others  rather  than 
his  own.  A  clerk  in  those  days  was  more  than  a 
presiding  officer.  While  I  would  not  join  the  ranks 
of  those  who  say,  "Why  were  former  days  better 
than  these  latter  days?"  for  I  do  not  think  such  is 
the  case,  yet  there  are  some  things  in  which  I  think 
we  might  take  lessons  from  the  Friends  of  seventy- 
five  years  ago,  especially  here  in  the  West.  Their 
example  and  influence  in  attending  their  meetings 
for  worship  and  discipline,  especially  in  the  middle 
of  the  week,  should  be  a  lesson  to  us.  The  country 
was  new,  the  roads  were  bad,  at  some  times  in  the 
year  almost  impassable.  Carriages  were  few,  espe- 
cially in  the  new  districts.  Often  the  big  farm 
wagon  was  used,  and  while  the  parents  sat  on 
chairs  or  on  a  board  across  the  top  of  the  wagon  bed, 
the  children  were  piled  in  straw  thrown  in  the 
bottom  of  the  bed  and  rolled  about  as  the  wheels 
ran  over  roots,  logs,  jolted  over  the  corduroy  bridges 
or  sank  in  mud  up  to  the  axle.  Others  went  on 
hoi  seback,  the  wife  riding  behind  the  husband,  if 
they  did  not  have  a  horse  apiece.  Often  the  mother 
would  be  seen  with  a  baby  in  her  lap  and  an  older 
child  behind  holding  on  to  her.  The  father,  with 
his  share  of  the  children,  would  be  on  another  horse. 


OLD  RANDOLPH  MEETING  43 

They  would  ride  up  to  the  side  of  the  "uppenblock" 
and  dismount.  This  block  was  so  named,  in  familiar 
Western  phrase.  It  was  generally  made  by  sawing 
off  a  log  about  three  feet  in  diameter  and  about 
three  and  one-half  feet  long.  It  was  then  stood 
up  on  its  end.  Two  steps  were  cut  in  the  side  so 
you  could  step  up  on  top.  Or  a  wide,  thick  board, 
ten  or  twelve  feet  long,  would  be  placed  with 
one  end  on  top  of  the  block  and  the  other  on  the 
groimd.  Then  pieces  were  nailed  about  one  foot 
apart,  and  with  a  hand-rail  or  a  fence  on  one  side, 
the  women  and  children  could  reach  the  top  of  the 
block,  which  enabled  them  to  get  on  and  off  of  the 
horse's  back  without  much  effort. 

My  last  mail  has  brought  me  a  letter  from  J.  D. 
M.,  a  friend  of  mine,  telling  of  his  memory  of  those 
days.  His  word  picture  is  so  clear  that  I  venture  to 
insert  a  little  of  it  here.  "As  thou  knows,  I  am  a 
birthright  member  of  the  Friends  Church,  and, 
although  my  parents  were  always  considered  liberal 
and  progressive  Friends,  yet  we  boys  were  reqmred 
to  comb  our  hair  straight  down  on  the  forehead  and 
wear  a  plain  coat,  with  straight  stand-up  collars  and 
say  'thee'  and  'thou,'  and  to  stop  all  kinds  of  work 
on  Fourth-day  and  go  to  meeting.  Sometimes 
mother  would  have  one  of  us  children  on  her  lap 
on  the  horse,  with  two  behind,  and  father  would 
have  an  equal  number  on  his  horse.  This  was  our 
automobile  in  those  days.  We  had  to  go  one  mile 
and  a  half  to  the  old  meeting-house.  We  were 
certainly  taught  to  live  up  to  the  law  in  those  early 
days,  but  I  would  not  say  that  there  were  not  good 
Christians  in  the  Society  of  Friends;  on  the  other 
hand,  I  believe  that  their  Christianity  would  com- 


44     AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

pare  favorably  with  that  of  to-day.  As  we  grew 
older  and  changed  our  environments  and  came  in 
contact  with  the  outside  world  and  with  other 
churches,  we  found  ourselves  constantly  breaking 
the  long-established  niles  of  the  Church.  One  of 
the  first  to  break  the  rules  was  my  sister,  Martha, 
and  her  husband,  Dr.  R.  H.,  who  so  far  deviated 
from  the  good  order  of  the  Society  of  Friends  as 
to  attend  the  marriage  of  a  relative,  which  was 
not  solemnized  in  accordance  with  the  Friends 
discipline.  My  sister  and  her  husband  refused  to 
make  the  required  acknowledgment  and  were  dis- 
owned. They  never  returned  to  church  fellowship 
with  the  Society  of  Friends,  although  they  lived 
and  died  happy  Christians,  members  of  another 
denomination. " 


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Chapter  V 

THE  WORK  OF  MY  FATHER  AND  OTHERS 
IN  THE  MINISTRY 

About  the  fifteenth  year  of  my  age,  my  father 
began  to  speak  in  our  meetings  in  the  line  of  the 
ministry.  Abijah  Jones  sat  at  the  head  of  our 
meetings,  being  a  recorded  minister.  He  frequently 
spoke,  but  not  at  length.  His  communications 
were  in  the  way  of  exhortation  and  telling  us  how 
we  shoiild  live.  They  were  given  in  a  monotone, 
with  great  solemnity,  and  always  with  a  number  of 
Scripttire  quotations,  mostly  from  the  Psalms. 
I  remember  well  the  first  time  my  father  spoke  in 
the  ministry.  It  made  a  deep  impression  upon 
my  mind.  About  the  same  time,  three  other 
Friends  began  to  speak  in  our  little  meeting.  Pru- 
dence Teague,  Smith  Gregg,  who  was  a  shoemaker  in 
the  neighborhood,  and  Daniel  H.  Hutchins.  Their 
gifts  differed.  Daniel  H.  Hutchins'  commtmica- 
tions  were  totally  of  a  doctrinal  nature,  dwelling 
with  emphasis  upon  the  doctrine,  of  great  import- 
ance to  him,  of  the  resurrection  of  the  body,  and, 
like  theologians  generally,  he  could  not  understand 
why  everybody  did  not  see  the  meaning  of  Scriptiu-e 
texts  just  as  he  did.  This  theme  of  his,  the  resur- 
rection of  the  body,  he  dwelt  upon  on  nearly  all 
occasions.  He  died  in  Baltimore,  in  1867,  where  he 
had  gone  to  attend  the  yearly  meeting,  from  a 
hemorrhage    from    the    Itmgs.     On    his    deathbed, 

(45) 


46     AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

between  the  flows  of  blood  and  while  gasping  for 
breath,  he  quoted  to  me  Job  19:  26,  "And  though 
after  my  skin  worms  destroy  this  body,  yet  in  my 
flesh  shall  I  see  God."  The  language  of  the  text 
in  the  new  translation  is  different,  but  he  knew  only 
the  old  version.  It  was  a  comfort  to  him  and  he 
died  in  peace. 

The  ministry  of  my  father  was  different.  He 
was  given  to  speak  to  conditions  of  meetings  and 
individuals.  Often  his  communications  were  so 
direct  that  meetings  were  impressed  and  individuals 
were  led  to  surrender  their  lives  to  God.  During  the 
last  forty  years  many  individuals  have  come  to 
me  and  told  me  when  and  where  they  were  converted 
under  my  father's  ministry.  From  this  time  on 
he  was  actively  engaged  in  church  work,  though  he 
was  not  recorded  a  minister  until  early  in  1850, 
in  his  thirty-ninth  year.  He  was  clerk  of  Mill  Creek 
Monthly  Meeting  for  six  or  seven  years,  and  for 
several  years  was  clerk  of  West  Branch  Quarterly 
Meeting.  In  the  year  1848  he  took  a  carriage  and 
two  horses  and  drove  James  Jones,  a  minister  from 
China,  Maine,  and  his  brother,  Elisha,  who  was  his 
companion,  through  Indiana  and  Illinois  and  the 
State  of  Iowa,  visiting  the  meetings  in  Iowa  as  far 
as  the  way  opened.  They  also  attended  some  meet- 
ings going  and  returning.  They  were  gone  six 
weeks.  In  1849  he  went,  with  Enos  G.  Pray  as 
companion,  to  visit  New  York  and  New  England 
Yearly  Meetings  and  most  of  the  meetings  belong- 
ing to  them. 

In  the  autumn  of  1850  we  left  the  old  home 
at  Randolph,  Ohio,  and  moved  to  Marion,  Grant 
Coimtv,    Indiana,   and    became    members  of  Mis- 


WORK  IN  THE  MINISTRY  47 

sissinawa  Monthly  Meeting  and  Northern  Quar- 
terly Meeting.  In  looking  over  the  minutes  of  the 
monthly  meeting  I  find  that  in  185 1  my  father  took 
out  four  minutes  for  religious  service;  in  1852, 
five;  in  1853,  three;  in  1854,  two.  One  of  these 
last  was  to  attend  Baltimore  and  North  Carolina 
Yearly  Meetings,  and  the  other  to  the  meetings  in 
Iowa.  In  1855  he  took  out  iour  minutes;  in 
1856,  four  minutes,  one  to  Canada  and  another  to 
New  York.  About  the  same  ratio  was  kept  up 
imtil  the  year  1873,  when  the  number  of  visits  was 
not  so  great.  In  1864  he  attended  Baltimore  and 
Ohio  Yearly  Meetings.  In  1865  he  visited  New 
England  and  New  York  Yearly  Meetings,  my 
mother  going  with  him.  In  1867  he  made  a  gen- 
eral visit  to  North  Carolina,  my  brother,  Walter 
D.  Jay,  going  with  him;  in  1869  a  general  visit  to 
Canada;  in  1870  a  general  visit  to  Iowa.  In  187 1 
he  visited  Baltimore  and  North  Carolina  Yearly 
Meetings  again,  my  mother  going  with  him.  This 
little  summary  will  serve  to  show  his  activity  in 
religious  visits.  Sometimes  he  would  return  a 
minute  and  obtain  another  one  for  service  the  same 
day.  In  all  his  travels,  he  paid  his  expenses  out  of 
his  own  pocket,  and  at  the  same  time  paid  his 
proportion  to  the  meeting  money  at  home,  was 
liberal  to  the  poor,  and  his  home  was  always  open 
to  entertain  Friends.  He  died  Fifth  month  15, 
1880.  He  had  visited  all  the  yearly  meetings  on 
this  continent  except  one,  most  of  them  more  than 
once,  traveling  more  or  less  within  the  limits  of 
all  of  them,  and  during  his  ministry  visiting  all 
the  particular  meetings  belonging  to  them,  except 
a  very  few  of  the  most  isolated  and  remote.     He 


48     AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

took  a  deep  interest  in  those  young  in  the  ministiy 
and  bestowed  on  such  much  encouragement,  wise 
counsel  and  loving  care.  Having  a  great  memory 
for  names  and  faces,  he  could  recognize  a  large 
number  of  Friends  and  enjoyed  meeting  with  them. 
The  following  incident  shows  his  power  of  memory. 
A  number  of  years  ago  he  attended  a  weekday 
meeting  in  the  State  of  New  Hampshire.  After 
meeting,  as  he  was  passing  out,  he  reached  out  his 
hand  and  spoke  to  a  Friend,  and  asked  him  his 
name.  Fourteen  years  after  that,  at  the  close  of  a 
meeting  in  Illinois,  he  went  up  to  this  Friend, 
spoke  to  him  and  called  him  by  name,  and  when  the 
Friend  asked  him  how  he  knew  him,  he  said  "  I  met 
thee  in  New  Hampshire  fourteen  years  ago,"  and 
gave  him  the  year,  the  month  and  the  date,  also  the 
day  of  the  week. 

I  feel  that  it  is  due,  in  this  connection,  to  speak 
a  word  in  memory  of  my  dear  mother.  She  was  a 
faithful  wife  and  a  loving  mother,  and  freely  and 
willingly  bore  her  part  in  the  work  of  the  Church, 
never  hindering  my  father  from  engaging  in  any 
work  that  he  believed  the  Master  called  for  at  his 
hands,  but  bearing  the  burden  of  caring  for  the 
home  during  his  absence  and  never  murmuring, 
cheerfully  giving  him  up  and  encouraging  him 
always  to  be  faithful  to  the  Divine  call.  I  have 
often  been  impressed  with  the  belief  that  the  one 
who  remains  at  home  and  looks  after  the  family  and 
the  daily  cares  of  the  home  deserves  the  prayers 
and  sympathy  of  the  Church  as  much  or  more  than 
the  one  who  goes  out  into  public  service.  Sometimes 
their  work  may  not  be  appreciated  as  much  as  that 
of  those  who  appear  more  in  the  public  eye,  but  the 


WORK  IN  THE  MINISTRY  49 

dear  Master  knows  their  pectiliar  trials,  their 
worries,  and  their  lonely  days  and  nights,  and  in 
the  end  He  will  give  the  proper  reward.  On  several 
occasions  my  mother  accompanied  my  father  on 
his  journeys,  at  one  time  going  with  him  to  New 
York  and  New  England,  at  another  through  a 
portion  of  the  West  and  to  North  Carolina.  She 
lived  fourteen  years  after  my  father's  death,  making 
her  home  with  my  sister,  Mary  E.  Baldwin,  in 
Marion,  Indiana.  She  died  Eleventh  month  15, 
1894,  aged  eighty-two  years.  When  the  end  came, 
she  was  ready,  saying  at  the  beginning  of  her  illness 
of  two  weeks'  duration  that  she  expected  it  would  be 
her  last.  She  often  said,  "  I  believe  all  will  be  well, " 
and  in  the  last  day  and  night  she  would  say  to  those 
around  her,  "  Be  good.  I  want  you  all  to  do  right, " 
and  then  passed  away,  saying, "  Jesus,  precious  Jesus !' ' 
I  have  thus  dwelt  a  little  while  on  the  work  of 
my  parents,  in  order  to  show  the  young  ministers 
of  the  present  day  something  of  the  self-denial  that 
the  Friend  minister  of  seventy-five  years  ago  was 
called  upon  to  make,  not  only  in  leaving  his  home 
and  business,  but  also  in  bearing  his  own  expenses. 
There  may  be  a  danger  of  the  young  people  of  the 
present  day  forgetting  what  the  inheritance  they 
now  enjoy  has  cost  others.  I  have  been  afraid  some- 
times that  some  have  spoken  too  lightly  of  the 
sacrifices  made  by  the  older  Friends  and  dwelt  too 
much  upon  the  smaller  sacrifices  which  they  are 
called  upon  to  make.  Many  others  were  just  as 
faithful  as  my  father  in  laboring  to  build  up  the 
Church  that  we  now  enjoy.  May  we  be  worthy  sons 
of  such  ancestors  and  see  that  we  do  not  lower  the 
standard  of  genuine  Quakerism,  but  labor  to  make 


so     AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

it  what  the   twentieth   century  demands   that   it 
shall  be. 

Having  thus  dwelt  upon  my  father's  life,  it  seems 
but  just  to  refer  to  two  of  his  brothers,  Thomas  and 
William  Jay,  who  were  also  called  to  the  work  of 
the  ministry,  both  of  them  filling  important  places 
in  the  field  that  they  occupied.  Uncle  Thomas  was 
nearest  my  father  in  age,  only  one  brother  being 
between  them,  but  as  we  labored  together  a  few  years 
later  in  North  Carolina,  I  will  leave  what  I  have 
to  say  about  him  until  I  come  to  give  an  account 
of  that  labor,  and  briefly  refer  here  to  Uncle  William 
Jay  (1823-1881).  He  had  a  birthright  membership 
in  the  Friends  Church  and  remained  a  member 
tmtil  1857,  when  he  and  his  wife,  Esther  Furnace 
Jay,  united  with  the  Sugar  Grove  Christian  Church 
(sometimes  called  the  New  Light  Branch  of  the 
Christian  Church),  of  which  he  remained  a  member 
until  his  death.  He  was  chosen  pastor  of  that  con- 
gregation and  held  the  position  for  twenty-one  years, 
when  he  resigned.  He  received  into  this  church 
230  members  during  his  pastorate.  During  his 
ministry  he  preached  about  1,000  funeral  sermons, 
going  long  distances  willingly  iinder  all  circimi- 
stances.  He  was  for  a  long  time  prominently 
identified  with  the  educational  interests  of  Miami 
County,  both  as  an  educator  and  as  a  county 
examiner.  He  and  his  brother,  Eli  Jay,  erected  a 
school  building  in  Frederick,  in  which  they  taught 
for  years.  He  also  had  the  principalship  for  a 
time  of  the  West  Milton  schools.  Perhaps  I  cannot 
better  describe  him  and  the  love  in  which  he  was 
held  than  to  give  an  extract  from  a  sermon  preached 
at  his  funeral  by  one  who  knew  him  well. 


WORK  IN  THE  MINISTRY  51 

"  Few  men  were  more  gentle  than  he.  With  the 
wisdom' of  the  serpent  was  seen  quite  as  conspicu- 
ously the  gentleness  of  the  lamb,  and  to  his  gentle- 
ness he  added  kindness,  and  this  kindness  was 
the  very  milk  of  his  nature.  Towards  all  men  he 
extended  this  spirit  of  kindness  as  naturally  as  he 
breathed.  One  would  almost  think  that  his  nature 
would  not  permit  an  unkind  expression.  Almost 
as  well  expect  discord  from  skillful  fingers  as  they 
sweep  the  well- tuned  harp.  But  to  gentleness  and 
kindness  he  added  sympathy  as  an  equally  natural 
expression.  The  tears  of  sympathy  flowed  for 
every  suffering  mortal  that  had  need  of  his  aid,  and 
the  word  of  sympathetic  expression  scarcely  ever 
departed  from  his  lips.  But  his  nature,  like  the 
Gospel  itself,  was  not  full  when  stored  with  these 
graces,  nor  exhausted  by  their  bestowment.  These 
were  supplemented  with  love.  As  naturally  as  the 
eyes  wept,  so  naturally  the  heart  loved.  With  love 
for  Jesus,  he  loved  all  for  whom  Jesus  died.  As 
God  loved  the  world  before  sending  His  Son,  and 
thus  before  the  world  came  to  His  Son,  so  Brother 
Jay's  heart  of  love  was  melted  into  richest  expres- 
sions toward  those  who  were  yet  out  of  Christ  and 
in  rebellion  against  God.  Never  did  a  man  more 
truly  love  the  sinner.  The  love  of  the  Father 
was  the  burden  of  his  sermon,  while  rich,  deep, 
yearning  love  was  the  burden  of  his  own  heart. 
Gentleness,  kindness,  sympathy  and  love  were  the 
elements  of  our  brother's  nature.  I  do  not  believe 
Brother  Jay's  heart  ever  compromised  with  evil 
from  any  fear  of  the  foe.  He  fought  for  Jesus 
against  every  foe  of  righteousness  and  he  never 
shrunk  from  the  conflict.     Why  should  the  man 


52     AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

who  never  feared  the  voice  of  death  nor  the  out- 
stretched arms  of  the  grave  have  fear  of  mortal 
man?  And  how  effectively  did  he  fight!  The 
record  of  his  church  shows  that  in  the  one  con- 
gregation he  received  over  230  members.  Myriads 
of  hearts  have  been  melted  into  submission  to 
Christ  by  the  persuasive  music  of  his  voice  and 
logic  of  his  argument.  But  when  you  think  of  his 
leadership,  his  weapons,  his  possession  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  his  genial  spirit,  why  wonder  at  the 
good  results  of  his  labors?  And  did  ever  man 
battle  more  disinterestedly  than  he?  The  gain 
that  he  chiefly  sought  was  souls  for  his  Master 
and  salvation  for  the  perishing.  Refusal  was  not 
possible  to  one  whose  heart  was  all  sympathy  and 
love.  The  cold  wind,  the  hot  sun,  the  drenching 
rain,  the  midnight  darkness — none  of  these  could 
deter  the  man  whose  life  was  duty.  His  nature 
gave  promise  of  old  age,  but  to-day,  at  fifty-seven 
years,  he  sleeps  in  death.  Few  men  have  more 
fully  and  generously  given  their  Hves  to  the  people. 
He  sleeps  in  death,  a  martyr  to  his  devotion  to 
humanity." 


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Chapter  VI 

ORIGIN  AND  INFLUENCE  OF  WEST 
BRANCH  QUARTERLY  MEETING 

In  my  twentieth  year  my  parents  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  it  would  be  right  for  them  to  leave 
the  old  home  in  Ohio  and  move  to  a  new  one,  located 
at  Marion,  in  Grant  County,  Indiana.  Although 
young,  I  had  become  attached  to  the  dear  old 
Friends,  whom  I  had  been  accustomed  to  see  sitting 
in  the  galleries  of  the  various  meetings  in  the  quarter. 
So  I  pause  a  little  while  to  dwell  upon  the  origin  of 
West  Branch  Monthly  and  Quarterly  Meetings  and 
the  influence  they  have  had  upon  the  Society  of 
Friends  in  the  Middle  West,  and  especially  upon 
Indiana  Yearly  Meeting,  religiously  and  educa- 
tionally. The  monthly  meeting  was  opened  at  West 
Branch  Meeting-house,  two  miles  south  from  West 
Milton,  Miami  County,  Ohio,  First  month  17,  1807. 
The  West  Branch  Quarterly  Meeting  was  opened 
Sixth  month  13,  181 2,  to  be  held  alternately  at  West 
Branch,  Ohio,  and  Richmond,  Indiana.  The  char- 
ter members  of  West  Branch  Monthly  Meeting  all 
came  from  North  Carolina  Yearly  Meeting,  most  of 
them  from  Bush  River  Quarterly  Meeting,  South 
Carolina.  It  appears  that  the  line  of  descent  of  West 
Branch  Monthly  Meeting  is  from  and  through  the 
following  monthly  meetings,  established  in  the  years 
given:  Chester,  1681,  and  Concord,  1684,  both  in 
Delaware    Coimty,     Pennsylvania;    Newark,  1686, 

(S3) 


54     AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

and  New  Garden,  1718,  both  in  Chester  County, 
Pennsylvania;  Nottingham,  1730,  in  Cecil  County, 
Maryland;  Hopewell,  1735,  in  Frederick  County, 
Virginia;  Westland,  1785,  Fayette  County,  Pennsyl- 
vania; Miami,  1803,  Warren  County,  Ohio;  West 
Branch,  1807,  Miami  County,  Ohio.  From  the  fore- 
going we  might  conclude  that  West  Branch  Monthly 
Meeting  was  a  child  of  Philadelphia  Yearly  Meet- 
ing, but  we  learn  that  in  1790,  the  meetings  then  in 
western  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia,  which  had 
belonged  to  Philadelphia,  were  transferred  to  the 
yearly  meeting  for  Maryland,  which  was  thereafter 
to  be  held  at  Baltimore,  and  which  seems  then  to 
have  taken  the  name  of  Baltimore  Yearly  Meeting. 
Since  the  Redstone  (Pennsylvania)  Meeting  belonged 
to  Baltimore  Yearly  Meeting  in  1 803 ,  all  the  Friends 
meetings  west  of  the  Alleghenies  are  to  be  reckoned 
descended  from  Baltimore  Yearly  Meeting.  The 
minutes  of  Miami  Monthly  Meeting  show  that  from 
1803  to  1807  there  were  306  certificates  received 
from  16  monthly  meetings  belonging  to  North  Caro- 
lina Yearly  Meeting,  conveying  the  rights  of  mem- 
bership of  1,418  members  to  that  monthly  meeting. 
I  have  been  permitted,  in  the  providence  of  my 
Heavenly  Father,  to  visit  within  the  limits  of  all 
these  monthly  meetings,  except  the  one  in  Georgia, 
and,  so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  see  or  hear,  the 
location  of  Friends  in  this  fair  Southland  was  desira- 
ble and  pleasant,  so  far  as  outward  comfort  and  ease 
were  concerned.  Their  land  was  fairly  productive 
and  their  climate  almost  ideal.  Their  communities 
were  prosperous,  their  societies  were  harmonious  and 
pleasant  to  live  in,  and  there  was  loving  fellowship 
amongst  them  as  brothers  of  the  same  household  of 


WEST  BRANCH  MEETING  55 

faith.  But  as  the  eighteenth  century  drew  to  a  close, 
there  was  unrest  amongst  them  and  a  general  feeling 
that  a  change  of  location  was  desirable.  Friends  at 
first,  in  common  with  others,  held  slaves  to  some 
extent.  There  was  all  the  time  a  protest  against 
the  practice  as  inconsistent  with  their  Christian  pro- 
fession. 

When  they  located  in  South  Carolina  and 
Georgia,  slave-holding  was  still  tolerated  amongst 
the  Friends,  but  during  the  years  of  their  residence 
there  the  Society  had  taken  a  very  advanced  position 
on  the  subject.  The  change  had  been  gradual  and 
was  the  result  of  heartfelt  conviction.  It  was  laid 
upon  their  hearts  and  consciences  that  it  was  wrong 
to  hold  their  fellow-men  in  bondage,  and  one  by  one 
they  freed  their  slaves.  This  conviction  soon  became 
a  concern  to  the  whole  Society.  By  loving  though 
persistent  persuasion,  pressing  the  truth  as  it  was 
apprehended  upon  the  consciences  and  judgment 
of  the  membership,  the  Society  of  Friends  as  a  body 
became  imited  in  forbidding  the  practice  of  holding 
slaves  by  its  members.  This  pronounced  stand,  of 
course,  put  them  in  opposition  to  the  prevailing  sen- 
timent of  the  coimtry,  and  they  soon  felt  the  disad- 
vantage to  which  their  free  labor  would  put  them  in 
competition  with  slave  labor.  This  conviction  of 
conscience  in  the  line  of  duty  and  judgment  as  to 
economic  considerations  came  to  them  as  a  divine 
voice  to  go  out  of  that  country  to  a  land  that  would 
be  shown  them.  That  land  was  the  new  Northwest 
Territory,  then  opening  to  settlers,  with  its  funda- 
mental ordinance,  dedicating  it  forever  to  freedom 
and  free  institutions,  and  they  were  not  disobedient 
to  the  vision  opened  before  them,  but  came  with 


S6     AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

great  rapidity,  as  a  vanguard  of  the  mighty  host  of 
free  citizens  that  soon  followed  to  lay  the  enduring 
foundation  of  great  States  and  prosperous  common- 
wealths. Among  those  who  came  are  the  names 
Ballinger,  Brown,  Coate,  Coppock,  Elleman,  Evans, 
Furnas,  Haskett,  Hollingsworth,  Jay,  Jenkins,  Jones, 
Kelly,  Macy,  Mendenhall,  Mote,  Neal,  Patty, 
Pearson,  Pemberton,  Teague,  Thomas  and  many 
others  whose  names  are  now  familiar  among  Friends 
throughout  the  West. 

We  will  now  advance  a  little  while,  to  their 
method  of  solving  the  educational  question  and  its 
effect  on  others.  In  the  first  half  of  the  last  century 
many  Friends  foimd  difficulty  in  providing  for  their 
children  as  good  opportunities  for  acquiring  educa- 
tion as  they  would  gladly  have  given  them.  The 
public  school  system  in  Ohio  was  not  developed  then 
as  now,  and  the  subscription  schools  on  which  the 
Friends  largely  depended  were  inadequate  in  equip- 
ment and  were  often  of  necessity  taught  by  teachers 
poorly  qualified,  both  as  to  knowledge  and  method. 
My  grandfather,  Walter  Denny  Jay,  though  having 
but  little  school  learning  himself,  was  desirous  that 
his  children  should  have  better  opportunities  than 
they  had.  His  three  youngest  sons  were  now  grown 
up  and  were  beseeching  him  for  better  educational 
advantages.  To  meet  this  demand  and  to  help  other 
parents  similarly  situated,  he  hired  and  placed  as 
teacher  in  a  school-house  near  his  home  a  young 
Friend  of  advanced  education.  This  was  the  au- 
tumn of  1845.  That  winter,  and  also  the  following 
winter,  he  taught  a  four-months'  school,  ranking  in 
grade  of  studies  with  academies  and  high  schools  of 
later  day.     Yoimg  people  desirous  of  better  educa- 


WEST  BRANCH  MEETING  57 

tion  came  into  the  school  from  other  neighborhoods. 
The  school  was  a  success,  a  very  beehive  of  activity 
in  search  of  knowledge  and  an  inspiration  to  sur- 
rounding neighborhoods  to  provide  more  advanced 
education  among  the  youth.  It  was  quite  gratifying 
to  my  grandfather,  whose  wise  thought  and  liberality 
started  the  school.  One  of  his  sons,  Eli  Jay,  and 
Mahalah  Pearson,  who  came  from  another  neighbor- 
hood, were  among  those  greatly  profited  by  the 
advantages  of  these  schools  in  the  knowledge  of  the 
natural  sciences  and  mathematics.  In  1847  they 
both  began  teaching  near  their  respective  homes,  in 
Miami  County,  Ohio,  he  in  a  settlement  school,  she 
in  the  public  schools  of  the  State.  They  were  mar- 
ried Tenth  month  24,  1849,  and  soon  after  began 
teaching  together  in  a  school  of  their  own  with  a  set 
purpose  to  make  teaching  their  lifework.  Two  years 
of  this  school  deepened  their  consciousness  of  their 
own  need  of  better  education  for  their  intended  work. 
They  arranged  to  go  to  Oberlin  College,  in  northern 
Ohio,  then  the  only  co-educational  college  in  the 
country,  and  which  then,  as  now,  was  eminently 
Christian  in  all  its  appointments  and  pervaded 
by  a  deeply  religious  atmosphere.  At  this  day  we 
are  surprised  at  the  opposition  and  denunciation  they 
met  with,  both  in  private  and  in  public,  when  their 
plan  of  going  to  Oberlin  became  known.  A  seem- 
ingly exercised  minister  had  the  shutters  opened  at 
the  close  of  quarterly  meeting  and  used  the  occasion 
to  dwell  upon  the  awfiilness  of  what  they  were  about 
to  do  and  the  terrible  and  everlasting  consequences 
to  which  it  might  be  expected  to  lead.  His  discourse 
led  one  Friend  to  say,  at  the  close  of  the  meeting, 
to  another  who  was  approving  what  had  been  said, 


58     AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

"  You  talk  as  though  you  thought  there  was  no  God 
in  OberHn. "  But  more  of  the  Friends  present 
seemed  dazed  by  the  minister's  exercise  and  avoided 
the  customary  cordial  shaking  of  hands  at  the  close  of 
the  meeting.  To  such  an  extent  did  ignorance  and 
narrow-mindedness  prevail  in  that  day,  even  in  sup- 
posedly high  places.  The  purpose  of  Eli  and 
Mahalah  Jay  was  not  changed  by  this  demonstra- 
tion. It  rested  upon  too  firm  a  conviction  of  what 
was  right  for  them  to  do  to  be  disturbed  by  such  an 
incident,  and  they  went  to  Oberlin  the  next  week  as 
they  had  planned.  It  was  a  comfort  to  them  after 
leaving  this  scene  of  grim-faced  men  and  tearful 
women,  to  find  that  their  parents  on  both  sides  and 
their  near  relatives  encouraged  them  to  go.  They 
had  scarcely  left  the  meeting-house  grotmds  in  the 
carriage  with  Grandfather  Jay  when  he  said  to  them, 
"Children,  I  want  you  to  know  that  I  have  no  unity 
with  such  doings.  You  know  I  have  not  encotiraged 
you  in  going  to  Oberlin,  but  now  I  want  you  to  go. " 
As  all  college  courses  then  required  Latin  and  Greek, 
which  they  had  not  studied,  it  was  necessary  for  them 
to  give  two  years  to  preparatory  work  on  the  lan- 
guages, then  four  years  in  the  regular  college  course. 
The  first  two  years  they  took  at  Oberlin,  the  last 
four  years  at  Antioch  College,  Yellow  Springs,  Ohio, 
nearer  their  own  home,  a  new  co-educational  college 
opened  in  the  autumn  of  1853  inider  the  presidency 
of  Horace  Mann,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  edu- 
cators of  that  day.  They  graduated  from  this  col- 
lege in  1857,  and  in  i860  received  their  second,  or 
Master's,  degree  from  their  alma  mater.  Mahalah 
Jay  taught  a  large  class  in  preparatory  Latin  all 
through  their  senior  year,  and  after  their  gradua- 


WEST  BRANCH  MEETING  59 

tion  she  continued  for  more  than  two  years  teaching 
in  the  preparatory  department  of  Antioch  College. 
Eli  Jay  taught  in  the  public  schools  of  Yellow 
Springs  two  years.  In  1859  he  took  charge  of  a 
school  near  Lafayette,  Indiana,  which  was  under  the 
care  of  the  Friends  of  Greenfield  Monthly  Meeting, 
where  he  taught  one  year.  The  next  two  years  they 
both  taught  at  Spiceland,  Henry  County,  Indiana. 
They  also  taught  at  Tippecanoe  City,  Miami  County, 
Ohio.  In  the  summer  of  1864  they  were  asked  to 
take  places  at  Earlham  College,  and,  as  events 
turned,  Richmond,  Indiana,  has  been  their  home 
ever  since.  Their  connection  with  Earlham  College, 
which  began  Tenth  month,  1864,  closed,  so  far  as 
regular  work  there  was  concerned,  in  Sixth  month, 
1884.  In  these  twenty  years  they  were  out  of  the 
college  but  six  years.  One  of  these  years  was  spent 
in  the  Indian  work  near  Fort  Sill,  Indian  Territory 
(now  Lawton,  State  of  Oklahoma),  and  two  years  in 
teaching  at  Rich  Square,  near  Lewisville,  Henry 
County,  Indiana.  In  their  years  as  officers  and 
teachers  at  Earlham  College,  Eli  Jay  was  employed 
in  various  positions,  first  as  Governor,  having  charge 
of  the  boys ;  then  as  teacher  of  mathematics,  natural 
science  and  history  in  the  Preparatory  Department. 
In  1874-75  he  was  the  acting  president  of  the  col- 
lege in  the  absence  of  the  president,  Joseph  Moore, 
during  the  latter's  visit  to  the  Hawaiian  Islands. 
The  last  five  years  he  was  Professor  of  Mathematics, 
Physics  and  Astronomy  in  the  College  Department. 
Mahalah  Jay's  work  was  principally  in  the  Prepara- 
tory Department  of  the  school,  teaching  Latin  and 
English  the  greater  part  of  the  time.  She  was  also 
Principal  of  the  Preparator}'  Department,   which 


6o     AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JA\ 

then  embraced  more  than  two-thirds  of  all  the  stu- 
dents attending  the  school.  Since  1884  they  have 
not  been  engaged  in  much  regular  teaching,  but  have 
given  a  good  deal  of  private  instruction  to  students 
who  have  mostly  come  to  their  home  to  recite.  Alto- 
gether, they  have  touched  and  aided  in  their  prepara- 
tion for  life  several  thousands  of  the  generation  of 
men  and  women  who  are  now  on  the  active  stage  of 
life.  These  years  of  semi-retirement  have  been  filled 
with  plenty  of  work  in  various  lines,  preventing  the 
rust  of  inactivity,  and  now,  having  both  passed  their 
foiu'score  years,  and  having  lived  together  nearly 
threescore  years,  with  thankful  hearts  that  they 
have  been  permitted  some  little  part  in  the  world's 
work,  they  look  back  with  much  interest  upon  what 
they  have  seen  and  known  and  been  a  part  of  in  the 
past,  and  forward  with  good  hope  of  what  the  future 
may  yet  unfold  to  them,  both  here  and  hereafter. 
This  instance  that  I  have  given,  resulting  from  the 
school  in  the  limits  of  West  Branch  Quarterly  Meet- 
ing, might  be  duplicated  to  some  extent  in  the  lives  of 
others  who  received  their  inspiration  and  thirst  for 
knowledge  in  that  school  and  others  in  the  limits  of 
that  quarterly  meeting.  Among  these  I  will  mention 
the  late  Dr.  Joseph  W.  Jay,  who  taught  for  a  number 
of  years  both  in  Ohio  and  Indiana,  and  was  an  instru- 
ment of  great  blessing  to  many  in  various  places, 
closing  a  long  and  useful  life  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
three.  It  is  but  just  for  me  to  say  that  I  first  caught 
my  desire  for  education  from  the  influence  of  these 
schools  and  the  spirit  created  by  them. 

One  more  incident  will  show  that  this  educational 
and  missionary  spirit  was  not  confined  to  the  yoimg 
alone.     Among  the  men  of  worth  in  West  Branch 


WEST  BRANCH  MEETING  6i 

Quarterly  Meeting,  and  a  charter  member  of  it,  was 
Moses  Pearson.  Bom  in  South  CaroHna,  he  came 
when  a  child  to  Ohio,  in  the  emigration  of  Friends 
from  the  South  in  the  early  years  of  the  last  century, 
and  grew  up  under  the  vigorous  training  and  general 
efficiency  of  those  pioneer  times.  Brought  up  a 
farmer  on  a  farm  which  his  hands  had  helped  to  win 
from  the  primeval  forest,  a  carpenter  by  apprentice- 
ship to  the  trade,  at  home  with  odd  jobs  on  the  black- 
smith's anvil  or  shoemaker's  bench,  with  knowledge 
of  medicine  sufficient  for  the  ordinary  needs  of  his 
family,  he  could  help  himself  when  there  were  no 
others  at  hand  to  help  him.  He  could  make  a  table 
or  a  house,  could  build  a  fiat  boat  on  the  river  near 
his  home  and  navigate  it  loaded  with  the  produce 
of  neighboring  farms  to  markets  on  the  lower  Mis- 
sissippi. He  was  a  loyal  Friend,  active  in  the  work 
of  the  church,  but  quiet  and  firm.  He  was  easily 
chosen  when  a  man  was  wanted  to  open  up  work 
among  the  Indians  in  the  then  "Far  West."  The 
Shawnee  Indians,  upon  whom  the  Friends  had  be- 
stowed great  labor  and  care  while  they  were  resid- 
ing in  Ohio,  were  removed  by  the  Government,  in 
1832  and  1833,  to  a  reservation  in  what  was  then 
called  Missouri  Territory,  at  that  time  a  wild,  unset- 
tled region,  but  now  the  eastern  part  of  the  State  of 
Kansas.  These  Indians  sent  word  to  their  old 
friends,  the  Quakers,  of  Indiana  Yearly  Meeting, 
that  they  wanted  them  to  come  to  their  new  homes 
and  again  live  among  them  and  teach  them.  The 
yearly  meeting  sent  a  deputation  to  investigate 
the  situation.  Its  report  to  the  yearly  meeting  in 
1836  was  favorable  to  taking  up  the  work  again 
among  these  Indians,  and  they  had  arranged  for  the 


62     AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

Indians  to  build  a  mission-house.  Moses  and  Sarah 
Pearson  were  appointed  superintendents  of  the  work. 
They,  with  their  family  of  five  children  and  another 
man  for  school-teacher  and  a  woman  for  seamstress, 
reached  the  mission  field  by  five  weeks'  travel  in  a 
covered  wagon  in  1837,  They  opened  up  what 
would  now  be  called  an  industrial  mission.  They 
engaged  for  two  years'  service,  but  their  stay  was 
lengthened  to  more  than  three  years.  Their  assist- 
ants went  for  one  year  or  less  time.  The  equipment 
they  found  there  was  an  unfinished  two-room  log 
house,  one  and  one-half  stories  high,  built  near  a  good 
spring,  in  the  edge  of  a  fertile  but  unbroken  prairie. 
In  their  three  years'  stay,  a  farm  of  more  than  100 
acres  was  enclosed  and  the  larger  part  of  it  put  under 
cultivation.  Two  buildings,  a  school-house  and  a 
bam,  were  erected,  and  an  orchard  of  fruit  trees 
planted.  The  farm  was  looked  upon  by  the  Indians 
and  also  by  some  of  the  white  people  on  the  Mis- 
souri border  as  a  model  for  them.  The  first  winter, 
the  school-house  having  been  made  ready,  1 8  Indian 
children  were  taken  in,  clothes  were  made  for  them, 
and  they  were  dressed  like  white  children.  They 
were  boarded  in  the  family  and  were  taught  in  the 
school.  The  older  boys  and  girls  were  trained  to 
assist  with  the  work  on  the  farm  and  in  the  house, 
and  were  some  help,  but  Sarah  Pearson's  physical 
strength,  as  well  as  ingenuity,  were  severely  taxed 
to  provide  for  so  large  a  family  with  so  little  room 
and  help.  The  boys  slept  in  the  school-house,  imder 
the  care  of  the  teacher,  on  a  primitive  kind  of  folding 
bed  of  home  manufacture,  that  folded  up  against 
the  wall  of  the  school-house  in  the  daytime.  The 
next  two  years  only  12  or  15  regular  boarders  were 


WEST  BRANCH  MEETING  63 

taken  in.  In  religious  work,  meetings  for  worship 
were  held  twice  a  week,  which  the  children  attended, 
and  to  which  the  adult  Indians  were  invited  and 
sometimes  came.  The  Scriptures  were  read  daily  in 
the  family  and  school  and  often  explained.  When 
the  children  learned  to  read  and  had  acquired  some 
knowledge  of  English,  they  had  a  daily  lesson  in  the 
New  Testament  as  part  of  their  school  work.  Many 
Friends  had  opposed,  as  a  wild,  unwise  move,  the 
going  of  Moses  and  Sarah  Pearson  into  this  service, 
but  at  the  end  of  the  time  all  gave  them  a  cordial 
welcome  home.  The  incident  had  been  helpful,  not 
only  to  the  Shawnees,  but  to  the  home  Friends,  in 
widening  their  outlook  on  life  and  its  possibilities 
and  duties,  and  West  Branch  Quarterly  Meeting 
had  the  honor  of  furnishing  the  first  missionary 
workers  of  Friends  among  the  Indians  in  the  far 
West.  This  work  was  continued  by  Indiana  Yearly 
Meeting  for  a  number  of  years  with  varying  suc- 
cess, and  when  the  time  arrived  for  closing  up  the 
work  in  that  locality,  the  property  was  sold  and  the 
proceeds  were  used  to  establish  what  is  now  known 
as  the  Shawnee  Fund,  the  income  from  which  is  now 
used  by  the  Associated  Executive  Committee  on 
Indian  Affairs  in  carrying  on  the  work  among  the 
Indians  at  the  present  day.  So  others  labored,  and 
we  have  entered  into  their  labors, 


Chapter  VII 

MOVING  TO  INDIANA 

It  was  in  the  summer  of  1850  that  we  left  West 
Branch.  The  public  sale  being  over  and  the  time 
having  arrived  for  moving  to  our  new  home  in 
Indiana,  we,  like  other  movers  in  those  days, 
started  with  wagons  loaded  with  household  goods 
and  such  other  things  as  we  wished  to  take  with  us, 
while  the  younger  members  of  the  family  walked 
and  drove  the  cattle.  At  night  it  was  customary 
to  camp  out,  which  was  done  by  building  a  fire  by 
the  roadside,  cooking  the  meal,  and  then  lying  down 
to  sleep  by  the  fire  upon  straw  and  bedding,  while 
the  older  members  of  the  company  and  the  women 
and  children  would  sleep  in  the  wagons,  which  were 
covered.  When  we  remember  the  great  emigration 
of  Friends  from  the  South  to  Ohio  and  Indiana, 
and  then  later  from  those  States  west  to  Illinois, 
Iowa,  Kansas,  and  to  the  far  West,  it  gives  an 
added  interest  to  the  wagons  used  for  this  purpose. 
The  wagon  bed  was  built  in  such  a  shape  that  it 
turned  up  at  the  fore  end  and  also  at  the  hind  end. 
It  had  wooden  bows  bent  over  the  bed  in  such  a 
manner  that  the  ends  of  the  bows  ran  into  iron 
staples  on  each  side  of  the  bed.  Over  these  bows 
was  drawn  a  cover,  made  of  cotton  or  linen  canvas, 
which  would  turn  the  rain  and  in  some  degree  keep 
out  the  storm.  Then,  with  two  horses  or  four 
horses,  or  sometimes  six  horses,  hitched  to  the  wagon, 

(64) 


MOVING  TO  INDIANA  65 

the  driver  would  sit  on  the  saddle  horse  and  drive 
the  lead  horses  by  a  single  line,  held  in  his  hand. 
Fifty  or  seventy-five  years  ago  it  was  a  familiar  sight 
to  see  these  emigrant  wagons  going  along  the 
main  roads  leading  westward.  Sometimes  in  the 
autumn  they  were  very  numerous,  especially  along 
the  National  Road,  which  was  laid  out  by  the 
Federal  Government  to  run  from  Cumberland,  Md., 
directly  across  the  mountains  west  to  St.  Loms, 
Mo.  The  act  of  Congress  authorizing  the  laying 
out  and  making  of  this  road  was  passed  by  Congress 
and  approved  by  Thomas  Jeflerson,  March  29,  1806. 
Upon  the  admission  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois  and 
Missouri  to  the  Union,  a  certain  revenue  from  the 
sale  of  land  was  to  be  set  apart  for  the  making  of 
roads  and  canals  within  their  limits.  Although  thus 
early  provided  for,  the  National  Road  was  not 
finished  through  Indiana  until  about  1830  and  1831, 
and  has  never  been  finished  all  the  way  to  St.  Louis, 
but,  as  some  one  has  said,  "  was  lost  in  the  prairies  of 
Illinois. "  This  was  a  great  thoroughfare  for  movers 
going  West,  and  it  is  said  that  often  in  the  autumn 
season  such  moving  companies  were  almost  always 
in  sight.  These  wagons,  in  the  West,  were  some- 
times called  "  prairie  schooners. "  In  this  way  most 
of  our  forefathers  came  over  the  mountains  and 
through  the  wilderness  to  Ohio  and  Indiana,  some- 
times swimming  their  horses  and  wagons  through 
the  rivers  and  cutting  their  way  through  the  forest. 
At  night,  they  would  have  their  campfires  burning 
to  keep  the  wild  animals  away  from  them.  When 
the  spirit  later  came  upon  our  fathers  to  move  west- 
ward, they  took  the  same  means  to  remove  their 
families,  and  while  there  was  not  so  much  forest  to 


66      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

pass  through,  yet  there  were  broad  prairies,  with 
tall  grass,  so  that  the  danger  of  prairie  fires  had  to 
be  guarded  against,  for  these  fires  sometimes  swept 
over  the  plains  with  great  rapidity.  This  danger 
could  be  overcome  by  burning  over  a  piece  of  ground, 
driving  into  the  center  of  it,  and  making  the  camp 
there,  where  the  grass  had  been  burned.  Our  mov- 
ing was  more  modem  and  not  of  so  great  length ;  we 
camped  out  only  three  nights.  We  reached  our  new 
home  and  were  greeted  with  a  pleasant  reception  from 
the  Friends  of  Mississinawa  Monthly  Meeting.  It 
was  a  good-sized  meeting,  with  a  great  many  young 
people.  It  was  established  in  1833  and  belonged 
to  Northern  Quarterly  Meeting,  which  was  settled 
mostly  by  Friends  from  the  "Old  North  State,"  as 
North  Carolina  was  sometimes  called.  This  quar- 
terly meeting  was  set  off  from  New  Garden  Quarter 
in  Third  month,  1841.  At  that  time,  Northern 
Quarterly  Meeting  was  held  alternately  at  Back 
Creek  and  Mississinawa,  these  two  meetings  receiv- 
ing their  names  respectively  from  a  stream  called 
Back  Creek  and  a  river  called  Mississinawa.  Back 
Creek  Monthly  Meeting  was  established  in  1838. 
The  quarterly  meeting  embraced  all  the  territory 
that  is  now  included  in  the  limits  of  Fairmount, 
Marion,  Wabash  and  Vandalia  Quarterly  Meetings. 
It  was  a  large  quarter  and  the  meetings  were  largely 
attended.  On  First-day  of  quarterly  meeting  great 
crowds  came  from  far  and  near.  Sometimes  there 
were  so  many  that  it  was  necessary  to  have  an  over- 
flow meeting  in  the  grove.  It  was  at  Back  Creek, 
within  the  limits  of  this  quarterly  meeting,  that 
one  of  the  first  "general  meetings"  was  held,  by  a 
committee  from  Indiana  Yearly  Meeting,  in  1869. 


MOVING  TO  INDIANA  67 

I  shall  have  more  to  say  in  regard  to  this  general 
meeting  work  further  on. 

In  Boarding  Schools  and  College 

My  life  was  spent  on  the  farm,  similarly  to  that 
of  other  young  men  of  that  day,  and  in  taking  part 
in  the  social  and  literary  entertainments  of  the 
young  people  of  the  neighborhood  until  the  autumn 
of  185 1,  when  my  father  took  my  brother,  Milton 
Jay,  and  myself  to  Friends  Boarding  School,  Rich- 
mond, Ind.  About  one  week  after  reaching  there 
I  broke  my  leg  while  playing  football.  I  was  carried 
to  the  nursery  and  lay  there  for  nearly  four  weeks, 
and  then  went  around  on  crutches  and  continued 
my  studies  during  the  term,  which  closed  in  the 
spring  of  1852. 

This  institution  has  had  such  an  important  in- 
fluence on  the  history  of  our  Society  in  the  Middle 
West,  indeed,  throughout  the  Church  in  the  great 
Northwest,  that  it  may  be  right  to  dwell  a  little  on 
the  struggle  Friends  went  through  to  secure  it.  It 
is  a  long  history.  Friends  were  poor  and  it  required 
great  self-denial  on  their  part  to  make  it  a  success. 
In  reviewing  its  origin,  I  am  reminded  of  a  lecture 
which  I  heard  delivered  in  Washington,  a  few  years 
ago,  by  an  old  German  who  was  connected  with 
the  Educational  Bureau  of  our  Government.  His 
subject  was,  "Educational  Laws  of  the  World." 
He  reviewed  hastily  the  laws  of  the  various  civilized 
nations  of  the  earth,  pointing  out  their  good  and 
bad  features.  Finally,  he  came  to  the  United 
States,  and  took  one  State  after  another.  He  had  a 
map  of  each  State,  intending  to  show  by  the  color 
of  the  map  the  grade  of  the  school  laws.     The 


68     AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

lighter  the  map  was,  the  better  the  educational 
system.  The  last  map  to  be  placed  upon  the  wall 
was  that  of  Indiana.  I  shall  not  attempt  to  give 
all  of  his  exact  words,  but  I  think  I  can  give  a 
correct  rendering  of  what  he  said  and  quote  some 
of  his  own  words.  "According  to  the  map  of 
Indiana,  ladies  and  gentlemen,"  he  said,  "there  is 
a  State  that  has  the  best  educational  system  in 
the  Union,  yes,  the  best  there  is  in  the  world,  and 
the  Quakers  are  to  blame  for  it.  Of  their  number, 
the  Hon.  Barnabas  C.  Hobbs  had  more  to  do  with 
it  than  any  other  one  man."  He  then  spoke  of 
his  work  as  superintendent  of  public  instruction  and 
his  connection  with  the  State  Normal  School  and 
with  other  educational  work,  and  closed  by  saying 
that  he  was  not  appreciated  by  the  State  nor  by  his 
own  church  while  he  lived.  After  saying  the  above, 
he  went  on  to  give  an  account  of  Friends  leaving 
the  South  and  why  they  left;  told  how  they  came 
to  Indiana,  settled  in  the  woods,  cleared  a  little 
patch  of  ground,  built  a  log  cabin,  and  then  selected 
a  suitable  location  and  built  a  log  church.  "No; 
excuse  me,  I  do  not  mean  church.  They  built  a 
meeting-house. "  "  Then,  in  a  few  years  they  united 
and  built  a  monthly  meeting  school-house,  and  their 
children  went  to  school  under  religious  teachers; 
on  Fourth-day  or  Fifth-day  they  went  to  'mid- 
week meeting,'  and  learned  to  worship  with  their 
parents.  The  Quakers  have  the  true  idea  of  edu- 
cation. They  educated  the  body,  intellect  and  heart 
together,  which  is  the  true  system  of  education,  for  if 
you  educate  the  intellect  alone,  you  have  a  cold 
and  formal  Christian,  or  if  you  cultivate  the  heart 
and  emotions  alone,  you  have  a  fanatic,  with  his 


MOVING  TO  INDIANA  69 

hobbies.  Quakers  solved  this  problem  by  training 
their  children  to  manual  labor  on  the  farm,  while 
their  minds  were  trained  in  the  school-room,  and 
their  spiritual  training  was  promoted  in  their  meet- 
ings, where  they  worshiped  with  their  parents  and 
were  taught  to  listen  to  the  voice  of  the  Spirit  and 
obey  His  commands." 

This  is  what  our  parents  meant  when  they  spoke 
of  a  "guarded  religious  education."  It  was  this 
desire  to  give  them  such  a  training  that  was  at  the 
bottom  of  the  monthly  meeting  schools  and,  as  their 
children  grew  older  and  wanted  a  more  advanced 
education,  caused  the  yearly  meeting  to  think  of  a 
central  boarding  school  at  Richmond,  Indiana.  But 
more  about  the  institution  and  some  of  the  men  and 
women  connected  with  its  history  later  on,  when  I 
tell  of  how  I  became  connected  with  it  in  a  different 
capacity  than  I  was  in  1852,  when  a  student. 

Upon  going  home  in  the  spring,  I  had  such  a 
strong  desire  to  continue  my  studies  that  my  father 
listened  to  my  entreaty  and  permitted  me  to  go  to 
a  new  school  that  had  just  been  established  the  year 
before,  under  the  control  of  Greenfield  Monthly 
Meeting,  located  some  nine  miles  southwest  of  La- 
fayette, Indiana.  Arrangements  being  completed,  I 
started,  with  my  trunk,  one  spring  morning,  with 
two  other  passengers,  in  the  hack  running  from 
Marion  to  Wabash,  twenty  miles  distant.  The 
"corduroy  bridges,"  which  were  made  by  cutting 
down  trees  and  saplings,  cutting  off  logs  twelve  or 
fourteen  feet  long  and  laying  them  crossways  in 
the  mud  holes,  were  floating  in  some  places,  on  ac- 
cotmt  of  the  water,  and  in  other  places  the  wheels 
of  the  hack  would  sink  in  the  mud  up  to  the  axles. 


70      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

Our  conveyance  mired  down  nine  times  during  the 
day,  and  we  had  to  get  out,  secure  rails  from  the 
fences  or  cut  poles  from  the  woods,  get  our  pry 
under  the  wheels  and  help  them  up,  while  the 
driver  would  whip  the  poor  horses  and  make  them 
pull  the  hack  out.  Then  we  would  get  in  and  ride 
until  it  dropped  again,  when  a  similar  scene  would 
take  place.  We  passengers  walked  about  half  the 
way  in  the  mud,  helped  to  get  the  wheels  out  of 
the  mud  holes  for  a  change,  and  paid  $2  for  the 
privilege  of  being  transported  to  Wabash.  You  can 
now  go  on  an  interurban  car  for  50  cents,  making 
the  journey  in  fifty  minutes.  I  went  over  the  road 
a  few  weeks  ago  and  tried  to  find  the  places  where 
the  mud  holes  were,  but  there  is  a  gravel  road  all 
the  way  now.  The  young  men  of  the  present  day 
will  never  know  the  healthy  pleasure  of  walking 
and  carrying  a  rail  to  help  out  of  a  mud  hole. 
They  will  have  to  ride  in  fine  cars  and  breathe  the 
microbes  that  they  tell  us  have  come  into  otir 
modern  society. 

We  reached  Wabash  between  nine  and  ten  at 
night,  tired,  muddy  and  himgry,  but,  after  washing 
and  eating  a  hearty  supper,  I  was  ready  for  the 
canal  packet  boat  that  came  along  about  midnight 
on  its  way  to  Lafayette,  eighty  miles  farther  down 
the  Wabash  River.  Sleep  was  sweet  that  night, 
and  the  next  night  I  landed,  a  stranger,  in  Lafayette, 
where  I  stayed  until  morning.  I  then  started  out 
for  a  nine-mile  walk  over  the  Wea  Plains.  It  was 
my  first  introduction  to  prairie  scenes.  The  morning 
was  pleasant,  and  when  I  came  to  the  Wea  stream 
I  pulled  off  my  shoes  and  stockings  and  waded 
through.     I  had  the  name  of  Buddell  Sleeper,  at 


MOVING  TO  INDIANA  71 

whose  home  I  was  to  board  and  whose  nephew  and 
niece  I  had  become  acquainted  with  the  winter 
before  at  the  boarding  school.  Stopping  to  inquire 
the  way,  I  found  the  home  of  Dr.  Turner  Welch, 
who  knew  my  parents  well  and  remembered  me 
when  I  was  a  child.  I  remained  there  for  dinner, 
then  walked  on  to  the  place  I  had  started  for,  and 
soon  reached  the  home  where  I  was  to  spend  the 
next  nine  months,  and  became  acquainted  with  the 
family,  the  eldest  daughter  of  which  was  to  walk 
with  me  nearly  forty-five  years  as  my  wife.  On 
the  following  Second-day  morning  the  school  opened, 
with  something  like  a  hundred  pupils.  The  principal 
teacher  was  Moses  C.  Stevens,  a  young  man  of 
twenty-five  from  Providence,  Rhode  Island,  who 
had  taught  in  the  Friends  boarding  school  of  that 
city.  He  had  now  come  West  to  teach.  We  were 
all  strangers  to  him  and  he  to  us.  It  was  a  time  of 
sizing  up  on  both  sides.  After  we  had  taken  our 
seats,  he  read  the  Ninetieth  Psalm,  and,  after  a  time 
of  silence,  he  rose  and  made  a  few  remarks,  closing 
his  speech  by  laying  down  his  first  rule,  which  was, 
"I  expect  you  all  to  behave  yourselves."  It  was 
short,  but  comprehensive.     We  understood  it. 

A  few  words  about  this  man  who  had  come  out 
to  the  West  to  engage  in  teaching  and  who  was  to 
play  an  important  part  in  helping  to  moiild  the 
educational  spirit  among  Friends  and  others  in 
Indiana.  He  taught  several  years  at  Farmers' 
Institute  and  made  a  name  for  himself.  After  that 
he  was  at  Green  Mount  Boarding  School  for  some 
time.  This  institution  was  located  near  Richmond 
and  was  under  the  control  of  the  Hicksite  branch 
of  the  Church.     After  several  years  it  went  down, 


72     AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

and  is^now  the  site  of  an  orphans '  home,  under  the 
care  of  the  Lutheran  Church,  and  is  called  the  Wemle 
Orphans'  Home.  After  this,  he  was  a  professor  of 
mathematics  at  Earlham  College  for  a  number  of 
years,  but  he  left  his  mark  on  that  institution  even 
more  when  afterwards  he  became  one  of  the  trustees, 
appointed  by  Western  Yearly  Meeting,  to  manage 
the  institution.  Perhaps  his  greatest  work  was  done 
as  professor  of  mathematics  at  Purdue  University, 
located  at  Lafayette,  Indiana,  a  State  institution, 
where  he  remained  until  age  reminded  him  that  the 
time  had  come  to  rest.  He  then  retired  to  a  com- 
fortable home  near  the  institution,  where  he  and  his 
lovely  wife  are  spending  the  evening  time  of  life,  ex- 
cept when,  to  avoid  the  cold  weather,  they  are  in 
their  Southern  home,  Tallahassee,  Florida.  He  has 
impressed  his  life  upon  many.  It  must  be  a  comfort 
now,  when  he  has  passed  his  fourscore  years,  to  look 
upon  the  lives  of  so  many  whom  he  has  taught  and 
sent  out  into  the  world  to  do  their  work. 

Farmers'  Institute  was  an  academy  that  was 
built  by  the  Friends  of  Greenfield  Monthly  Meeting, 
in  order  that  they  might  have  their  children  educated 
at  home.  It  was  located  in  a  grove  between  two 
prairies,  one  Wea  Plain,  and  the  other,  Shawnee 
Prairie,  not  far  from  the  meeting-house.  They 
erected  a  boarding  house  that  would  accommodate 
about  thirty  boarders.  There  was  a  good  literary 
society  connected  with  it,  in  which  a  number  of 
the  parents  took  an  active  part.  The  spirit  of 
education  was  felt  throughout  the  surroimding  com- 
munity, and  it  became  the  center  of  a  widespread 
influence  for  good,  a  number  of  Friends  moving  into 
that  neighborhood  to  educate  their  children. 


MOVING  TO  INDIANA  73 

At  the  close  of  the  summer  term,  I  went  home, 
helped  through  the  harvest  and  sowing  wheat  in 
the  autumn,  and  returned  at  the  opening  of  the 
winter  term.  The  following  spring  I  returned  home, 
helped  in  the  sugar  camp  while  we  were  making 
molasses  and  sugar,  and  then  went  on  to  Antioch 
College,  in  Ohio,  where  Uncle  Eli  and  Aunt  Mahalah 
Jay  had  offered  me  a  home  with  them  while  I 
attended  the  college.  This  institution  was  at  that 
time  under  the  presidency  of  Horace  Mann. 


Chapter  VIII 

EARLY  MARRIED  LIFE 

At  the  close  of  the  three  months '  term  at  Antioch 
College   I  rettimed  home  and  made  arrangements 
for  my  marriage  to  Martha  Sleeper,  in  the  autumn, 
which  took  place  at  Greenfield  Meeting  House,  Ninth 
month   20,    1854,   before   a   very   large   concourse 
of  people.      The  house  could  not   hold  them  all. 
There  had  not  been  a  Friends  wedding  there  in 
ten  years,  and  it  was  a  great  curiosity.     Perhaps 
there  was  more  excitement  on  the  part  of  the  con- 
gregation than  solemnity.     There  were  two  couples 
of  us  to  be  married  at  the  same  time.     My  wife 
had  a  double  first  cousin  who  had  been  brought  up 
by  her  parents  in  the  same  home,  and  they  were 
just  like  sisters.     Her  name  was  Chloe  A.  Sleeper. 
She  was  to  marry  Pleasant  A.   Winston.     When 
the  time  came,  the  dear  old  Friend  at  the  head  of 
the  meeting  announced  that  the  time  had  come  for 
us  to  proceed  to  perform  the  ceremony.     We  all 
rose   at   the    same   time.     I    spoke   first.     Taking 
Martha   Sleeper   by   the   hand,    I    said:     "In   the 
presence  of  the  Lord  and  before  this  company,  I 
take  thee,   Martha  Ann  Sleeper,   to  be  my  wife, 
promising,  with  Divine  assistance,  to  be  unto  thee 
a  loving  and   faithful  husband  until  death  shall 
separate  us."     Then   she  followed,   repeating  the 
same,  putting  my  name  in  the  place  of  hers  and 
"husband"  in  place  of  "wife,"  and  "wife"  in  the 

(74) 


MARTHA  A.  JAY. 


EARLY  MARRIED  LIFE  75 

place  of  "husband.' '     Then,  after  the  other  two  had 
said  the  same,  we  all  sat  down,  and  the  marriage 
certificate  was  read,  and  the  meeting  was  dismissed. 
For  the  information  of  my  young  friends,  I  may 
say  that  we  had  to  "pass  meeting."     That  is,  we 
had  to  be  present  at  the  monthly  meeting  before 
the  day  of  the  marriage,   when   I   went   into  the 
women's  meeting,  the  messenger  going  before  and 
opening  the  door.     There  I  found  my  intended  wife, 
sitting  on  the  "lower  facing  seat."     I  sat  down  by 
her,  and  the  clerk  read  the  minute   made    at   the 
last   monthly  meeting  regarding   our  intention   of 
marriage.     Then  we  arose,  took  each  other  by  the 
hand,  and  I  said:  "Friends,  we  continue  our  inten- 
tion of  marriage  with  each  other."     She  then  said 
the  same  thing.     Then  the  messenger  opened  the 
door,  and  we  walked  into  the  men's  meeting,  sat 
down  on  "the  facing  seat,"  and  the  minute  of  our 
intention  of  marriage  was  read  there.     Again  we 
stood  up  and,  taking  each  other  by   the  hand,   de- 
clared that  we  continued  our  intention  of  marriage, 
and  the  clerk  read  the  minute  liberating  us  to  pro- 
ceed,  and  appointed  a  committee  to   attend  the 
marriage  and  the  marriage  entertainment   and   see 
that  good  order  was  preserved  and  that  the  marriage 
certificate  was  recorded.     Some  will  say,  "why  so 
much  ceremony  and  care?"     I  am  inclined  to  the 
opinion  that  if  more  care  were  taken  to-day,  on  the 
part  of  parents  and  children,  in  approaching  the 
subject  of  marriage,  there  might  be  fewer  unhappy 
homes,  and  our  country  would  not  be  disgraced  by  so 
many  divorces.     Indeed,  every  lover  of  home  and 
country  must  mourn  over  the  unhappy  homes  and 
the  frequency  of  divorces  as  we  read  of  them  in 


76     AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

our  daily  papers.  I  would  appeal  to  my  young 
friends  to  approach  marriage  as  a  divine  institution, 
one  of  the  most  solemn,  and  yet  one  of  the  happiest, 
transactions  of  life  if  sanctioned  by  God.  Young 
men  and  women,  do  not  look  upon  courtship  as  a 
trifling  matter.  Approach  it  prayerfully.  Never 
trifle  with  each  other's  affections.  If  ever  honest, 
be  so  while  you  are  seeking  each  other's  love  and 
affection.  You  cannot  afford  to  deceive  each  other. 
When  a  boy,  I  never  remember  hearing  of  a  separa- 
tion where  Friends  had  been  married  in  meeting. 

Teaching  School 

The  following  day  we  started  in  carriages  to  my 
home,  some  ninety  miles  through  the  country,  reached 
there  on  the  second  day,  a  little  after  noon,  spent 
a  few  days,  and  then  went  on  to  Indiana  Yearly 
Meeting,  which  was  large  and  interesting.  We 
remained  in  my  parents'  home  that  winter,  and  as 
my  wife  had  taught  school  for  two  years,  the 
Friends  asked  us  to  teach  the  school  at  Mississinawa. 
We  agreed.  We  had  over  a  hundred  on  the  roll, 
and  an  interesting  and  satisfactory  term.  It  was 
understood  that  my  wife  was  a  good  teacher,  and 
I  tried  not  to  spoil  her  reputation,  but  to  learn  all 
that  I  could  about  teaching  and  other  things  that 
teachers  generally  learn  when  they  enter  upon  that 
profession.  As  spring  came  on  and  our  school 
closed,  I  felt  it  would  be  right  to  move  down  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Greenfield  Monthly  Meeting. 
So  I  went  down  on  horseback,  found  a  small  farm, 
and  returning,  as  soon  as  the  roads  were  passable, 
we  loaded  our  household  goods  in  a  wagon  and 
started  for  our  new  home,  which  caused  one  of 


EARLY  MARRIED  LIFE  77 

our  old  friends,  by  the  name  of  Eli  Overman,  to 
quote  the  text  of  Scripture,  with  an  addition,  "For 
this  cause  shall  a  man  leave  his  father  and  mother, 
and  cleave  unto  his  wife  and  wife's  people." 

The  Home  in  Greenfield  Monthly  Meeting 

The  first  of  Fourth  month,  1855,  we  landed  on 
what  was  called  "The  High  Gap,"  one  mile  from 
the  meeting-house  and  the  same  distance  from  the 
school-house,  where  I  had  spent  nine  pleasant 
months  at  school,  and  two  miles  from  my  wife's 
old  home.  We  were  between  the  meeting-house  and 
the  railway  station,  which  fact  opened  the  way  for 
us  to  have  many  visitors  coming  and  going.  Here 
we  were  to  live  for  nearly  fifteen  years.  Here  our 
five  children  were  bom,  and  here  the  two  older 
ones  died.  The  second  son,  Charles  A.,  died  when 
fifteen  months  of  age,  Rhoda  E.,  when  little  over 
six  years  of  age.  It  may  be  right  for  me  to  say  a 
little  in  regard  to  Rhoda.  She  was  going  to  school. 
One  day  she  said  to  her  mother,  "When  I  die,  I 
want  you  to  bury  me  by  the  side  of  little  Charlie." 
Her  mother  made  the  promise,  and  soon  afterwards 
she  went  over  to  the  home  of  Jeremiah  A.  Grennell, 
who  lived  a  few  rods  from  our  house,  and  told  him 
that  she  was  going  to  die  and  be  biiried  by  her  little 
brother.  He  took  her  on  his  lap  and  talked  with 
her  a  few  minutes  about  dying,  and  after  she  left, 
he  told  his  wife  that  Rhoda's  father  and  mother 
might  just  as  well  give  her  up,  as  she  was  not  going 
to  live.  She  came  to  me  one  day  and  told  me  the 
same  thing.  Looking  out  of  the  window  upon  the 
snow,  I  asked  her  if  she  would  not  be  afraid  to  die 
and  be  put  down  in  the  ground,  under  the  snow. 


78     AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

She  looked  at  me  with  a  smile,  and  said :  "  Why,  no, 
father!  Jesus  will  not  let  me  lie  in  the  grave.  He 
will  take  me  home  to  be  with  little  Brother  Charlie 
in  heaven,  and  there  we  will  wait  for  thee  and 
mother  to  come."  Perhaps  a  week  after  this,  one 
morning  she  came  out  of  her  bedroom  and  said, 
"  Father,  I  am  sick.  I  do  not  want  any  breakfast. " 
I  went  to  the  table  with  the  rest  of  the  family,  but 
did  not  feel  like  eating  much.  I  went  back  into 
the  room,  and  when  I  asked  her  how  she  was,  she 
said,  "I  am  growing  worse,"  and  then  added,  with 
a  faint  smile,  "I  am  not  afraid  to  die."  The  next 
morning  she  passed  away  to  her  eternal  home. 

We  were  now  settled  down  to  the  life  of  farmers 
in  the  midst  of  a  prosperous  farming  community, 
where  a  man's  success  was  too  much  judged  by  the 
money  he  made  and  the  number  of  acres  of  land 
he  owned.  Greenfield  Monthly  Meeting,  to  which 
we  belonged,  was  composed  of  two  preparative 
meetings,  Flint  Creek  and  Pine  Creek,  about  twelve 
miles  apart.  Pine  Creek  was  on  the  west  side  of 
the  Wabash  River.  The  monthly  meeting  was  set 
off  from  Sugar  River  Monthly  Meeting  and  Western 
Quarterly  Meeting,  now  Bloomingdale  Quarterly 
Meeting.  But  at  the  time  we  moved  there,  it 
belonged  to  Concord  Quarterly  Meeting,  held  alter- 
nately at  Honey  Creek  and  Sugar  Plain,  the  former 
now  New  London  and  the  latter  Thomtown  Quar- 
terly Meeting.  It  was  about  twenty  miles  from  any 
other  meeting.  Pine  Creek  having  been  laid  down. 
There  was  no  minister  or  elder  belonging  to  it. 
Neither  had  there  been  for  some  twelve  or  fifteen 
years.  There  were  few  who  spoke  in  meeting 
except    Enoch   Moon.     His   communications   were 


EARLY  MARRIED  LIFE  79 

largely  made  up  of  Scripture  quotations.  Occa- 
sionally some  one  else  spoke.  Vocal  prayer  was 
rarely,  if  ever,  heard,  unless  some  traveling  minister 
came  along,  which  was  not  very  often.  Yet,  the 
meeting  was  kept  up  and  well  attended  by  the 
members  and  by  others  living  in  the  neighbor- 
hood. The  Farmers'  Institute  Academy  was  a 
source  of  strength  in  the  community,  and  a  number 
moved  into  its  limits  to  educate  their  children. 

The  Bible  School  and  Religous  Awakening 

We  appointed  a  committee  each  spring  to  open 
and  keep  up  a  First-day  school  during  the  warm 
weather,  but  when  the  frost  came  it  went  into 
winter  quarters,  until  the  next  spring,  and  the 
committee  would  report  that  it  had  been  "held  to 
good  satisfaction."  In  the  spring,  when  the  buds 
were  opening,  it  would  be  resurrected  again.  One 
autumn,  after  we  had  been  there  three  or  four  years, 
several  of  the  young  Friends  came  to  me  after  the 
meeting.  They  had  decided  to  discontinue  the 
school,  and  said  if  I  would  take  charge  of  a  class, 
they  would  come  all  winter.  Being  one  of  the 
trustees  of  the  school,  I  arranged  for  a  room  in  the 
school  building,  and  we  met  every  First-day  after- 
noon. The  class  averaged  about  twenty,  and  has 
never  been  laid  down  since.  On  the  other  hand,  a 
few  years  later  the  whole  school  adopted  the  plan  of 
continuing  the  entire  year.  It  is  pleasant  to  look 
back  to  the  work  of  that  winter.  A  number  of 
the  members  of  that  class  have  been  useftd  in  church 
work.  The  majority  have  finished  their  race  on 
earth.  Several  years  afterwards  a  yoimg  woman, 
who  had  been  a  member  of  that  class,  just  before 


So     AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

she  died  requested  her  sister  to  write  to  me  that 
she  thanked  God  for  that  class,  because  while  a 
member  of  it  she  gave  her  heart  to  God.  It  was 
while  working  with  those  yotmg  people  that  I  first 
offered  vocal  prayer  in  public.  I  felt  the  need  of  it. 
Sometimes  the  spirit  of  prayer  would  come  upon 
us,  and  several  of  the  members  of  the  class  would 
engage  in  prayer.  This  revival  influence  was  finally 
felt  in  the  academy,  and  several  of  the  yoiing  people 
at  times  were  heard  in  prayer  during  the  morning 
devotions  at  the  opening  of  the  school.  One  evening, 
after  dismissing  the  class,  while  walking  home  I 
noticed  one  of  the  youngest  members  of  the  class, 
a  girl  of  fourteen  or  fifteen  years  of  age,  weeping 
as  we  walked  along.  I  queried  of  her  what  the 
matter  was.  After  some  persuasion,  she  said,  in  a 
broken  voice,  that  they  did  not  have  family  worship 
in  their  home,  and  added,  "I  feel  like  I  ought  to 
ask  father  to  let  me  read  the  Bible  to-night  and 
pray  in  the  family. "  Dear  child!  The  burden  was 
great.  I  encouraged  her  to  be  faithful,  and  when 
parting  from  her  at  the  gate  I  told  her  I  would 
pray  for  her  that  night.  The  next  morning  the 
father,  who  was  working  for  me,  came  into  the  bam 
and,  with  deep  emotion,  told  how  his  child  had 
come  to  him  and  asked  if  she  might  read  the  Bible 
to  the  family.  He  said:  "I  called  all  the  family, 
mother  and  six  children,  around  the  table  and  we 
sat  there.  She  took  the  Bible  and  read  a  few  verses, 
but  the  tears  so  blinded  her  that  she  could  not  see 
how  to  read.  But  she  could  pray,  and  as  she  knelt, 
we  all  knelt  and  wept  together."  It  was  only  a 
few  weeks  until  the  whole  family  were  praying 
Christians.     It  was  a  lovely  Christian  home  to  visit. 


EARLY  MARRIED  LIFE  8i 

Three  or  four  years  after  this,  as  the  sun  was  setting 
across  the  Western  prairie,  that  mother  lay  dying. 
She  looked  up  into  the  face  of  this  daughter  and  in 
a  feeble  voice  whispered,  "Thank  God  for  a  praying 
child,"  and  passed  away. 

My  own  Christian  life  was  growing  during  this 
time,  and  the  feeling  was  so  pronounced  among  the 
young  that  in  several  instances  when  a  company 
was  gathered  for  social  visiting,  a  chapter  would 
be  read  and  a  season  of  prayer  would  close  the 
visiting.  I  remember  several  of  these  occasions  at 
our  house,  when  the  students  came  in  to  eat  apples, 
crack  nuts,  and  have  a  pleasant  time  socially,  and 
when  we  would  close  with  a  prayer  meeting.  Indeed, 
in  looking  back,  I  am  impressed  with  the  belief 
that  often  this  was  one  of  the  motives  that  influenced 
those  young  people  to  come.  Thus,  in  a  quiet  way, 
in  this  little  Quaker  community  out  by  itself  on 
the  prairie,  during  the  years  1859  and  i860,  began 
this  wave  of  revival  work  that  a  few  years  later 
began  to  spread  abroad  over  our  branch  of  the 
Church  in  various  places,  of  which  I  have  more  to 
state  in  the  chapters  on  the  revival  work  in 
our  Church.  Other  localities  have  claimed  that  the 
movement  was  bom  in  their  midst  and  that  some 
special  person  was  the  instrument  in  bringing  it 
about.  It  may  have  been  that  the  sign  of  the  "going 
in  the  tops  of  the  mulberry  trees"  may  have  been 
first  heard  by  those  who  have  never  said  much  about 
it.  The  Master  will  know  where  to  bestow  the 
crown. 


Chapter  IX 
BEGINNINGS  IN  THE  MINISTRY 

During  the  year  1859,  in  our  silent  meeting  on 
First-day  morning,  I  rose  and  sooke  a  few  words  in 
the  way  of  the  ministry.  It  was  a  memorable  day  to 
me.  It  had  an  effect  on  the  congregation.  It  made 
me  a  "speckled  bird"  from  that  time  forward,  for 
in  those  days,  if  any  one  spoke  in  meeting  it  was 
expected  that  he  would  become  a  minister,  for  there 
was  no  other  door  open  whereby  he  might  exercise 
his  religious  gifts.  There  was  no  Home  Mission,  no 
Foreign  Mission,  no  Christian  Endeavor,  and  but 
little  Bible-school  work.  This  fact  may  have  been 
the  reason  why  some  who  would  have  been  good 
workers  in  these  fields  of  religious  labor  were 
recorded  ministers  when  they  had^never  had  the  call 
nor  had  a  gift  in  that  line,  and  now  it  may  happen 
that  some  who  are  called  to  the  ministry  may  try  to 
substitute  missionary  or  some  other  religious  work 
in  the  place  of  the  ministry.  Therefore  they  do  not 
succeed.  The  gifts  and  callings  of  God  are  without 
repentance. 

It  was  at  the  monthly  meeting  held  Fourth  month 
16,  1859,  that  a  removal  certificate  was  received 
from  Blue  River  Monthly  Meeting  held  in  Wash- 
ington County,  Indiana,  conveying  the  right  of  mem- 
bership of  Jeremiah  A.  Grinnell,  a  minister,  and 
that  of  his  wife,  Martha  Grinnell,  and  their  seven 
children.     Their  coming  was  a  great  blessing  to  our 

(82) 


BEGINNINGS  IN  THE  MINISTRY      83 

meeting.  He  was  a  man  twenty-five  years  ahead  of 
his  time.  He  "understood  the  signs  of  the  times," 
and  knew  what  Israel  ought  to  do,  and  withal  he 
had  the  wisdom  of  the  serpent  and  the  harmlessness 
of  the  dove.  He  was  a  reformer  without  being  a 
revolutionist.  Different  from  some  of  our  revival- 
ists, who  walk  rough-shod  over  the  feelings  of  those 
who  differ  from  them,  or  who  do  not  change  as  fast 
as  they  think  they  should,  he  produced  a  great 
change  in  our  meeting  without  hurting  the  feelings 
of  those  who  differed  from  him.  In  two  years  all 
were  ready  to  go  with  him  as  he  led  the  way.  He 
knew  how  to  bring  out  and  develop  the  gifts  of  the 
young  people  better  than  any  person  I  ever  knew 
in  all  of  my  wide  acquaintance.  He  knew  how  to 
get  work  out  of  others.  At  one  time  he  proposed 
that  a  committee  be  appointed  to  visit  the  families  of 
our  monthly  meeting.  He  met  with  us  and  helped 
make  out  the  program.  It  was  read  in  our  First-day 
morning  meeting  so  all  Friends  would  be  at  home 
at  the  proper  hour.  We  were  to  meet  at  a  certain 
house.  When  we  met  he  sent  word  that  he  would 
not  be  there,  but  that  we  must  go  ahead.  Every 
member  of  the  committee  was  heard  in  prayer  and 
testimony  before  we  got  through,  and  three  of  the 
number  have  since  been  recorded  ministers  of  the 
gospel.  He  knew  how  to  encourage  and  also  how  to 
direct  in  a  loving  manner.  One  First-day  morning, 
as  I  sat  under  a  great  burden,  a  text  came  to  my 
mind  and  I  rose  and  commenced,  as  I  believed,  under 
the  leading  of  the  Spirit.  After  a  little  I  got 
warmed  up  and  spoke  vigorously,  condemning  some 
severely  indeed,  judging  and  finding  fault  with  the 
way  they  were  doing.     After  meeting  he  came  to 


84     AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

me  with  a  smile  and  said:  "Allen,  after  dinner,  sit 
down  and  read  the  account  of  our  Saviour  going  to  a 
certain  village  where  they  would  not  receive  Him, 
what  the  disciples  wanted  to  do  with  them  and  His 
rebvike. "  (Liike  9  :  51-56.  A.  V.)  I  read  it  and 
have  not  forgotten  it  to  this  day,  and  am  often 
reminded  of  it  when  I  hear  some  of  our  ministers 
opposing  and  condemning  those  who  do  not  act  as 
they  think  they  should.  I  believe  to  this  day  my 
concern  was  right.  My  text  was  right  and  the  meet- 
ing needed  the  message,  but  I  got  away  from  the 
leading  of  the  Spirit  and  put  a  good  deal  of  Allen  Jay 
into  it. 

When  I  hear  ministers  ranting  and  stamping, 
pounding  the  desk  and  talking  about  people  going 
to  hell,  I  fear  they  do  not  know  "what  manner 
of  spirit"  they  are  of.  They  show  there  is  more 
human  nature  in  what  they  are  saying  than  there  is 
of  the  spirit  of  the  Master.  Let  me  ever  remember 
the  command  of  the  Saviour  when  he  said,  "Judge 
not  that  ye  be  not  judged,  for  with  what  judgment 
ye  judge  ye  shall  be  judged. "  Soon  after  Jeremiah 
Grinnell  came  to  our  meeting  he  obtained  a  minute 
to  visit  the  families  of  Friends  and  others  and  to 
appoint  meetings  in  the  surrounding  neighborhood. 
He  asked  me  to  go  with  him,  which  I  did,  and  it  was 
a  help  to  me.  At  our  monthly  meeting,  held  Eighth 
month  20,  1859,  he  obtained  a  minute  to  attend  Ohio 
Yearly  Meeting,  to  be  held  at  Mt.  Pleasant,  Ohio, 
and  some  meeting  belonging  to  it,  also  some  religious 
service  in  Indiana  Yearly  Meeting.  The  monthly 
meeting  gave  me  a  minute  to  go  with  him  and  it 
proved  a  great  encouragement  and  help  to  my 
spiritual  life.     On  this  visit  I  first  met  David  B. 


BEGINNINGS  IN  THE  MINISTRY      85 

Updegraff,  at  the  home  of  his  grandmother,  Ami 
Taylor.  She  introduced  him  to  me  by  saying: 
"  This  is  my  grandson,  David  Updegraff.  He  is  not 
doing  what  he  ought  to  in  the  Lord's  work."  It 
was  not  long  after  this  that  he  gave  himself  to  the 
Lord  and  entered  upon  the  work  that  made  him 
such  a  power  in  the  Church. 

In  connection  with  our  academy  we  had  a  literary 
society,  called  the  Western  Literary  Union,  which 
met  weekly  at  night.  Although  living  a  mile 
from  the  school-house,  I  made  it  a  rule  to  attend. 
After  working  on  the  farm  during  the  day,  I  would 
go  and  spend  the  evening,  taking  my  part  with  the 
young  people  in  composition  writing,  declaiming 
and  debating  such  questions  as  came  up  for  discus- 
sion. It  was  there  that  I  learned  to  stand  on  my 
feet  and  think.  I  was  naturally  very  bashful  and 
avoided  talking  in  company.  It  may  be  rather  hard 
for  my  friends  to  realize  this  fact  now.  Nevertheless 
it  was  a  genuine  fact.  Let  me  encourage  young  men 
and  women  to  cultivate  the  practice  of  speaking  in 
public,  that  you  may  learn  to  control  your  thoughts 
while  speaking.  I  would  also  suggest  your  doing  this 
without  notes,  for  if  you  form  the  habit  of  speaking 
from  notes,  you  will  become  a  slave  to  the  practice 
and  then  you  must  have  them  or  fail.  A  per- 
son may  be  accurate  at  first  by  having  notes, 
make  fewer  mistakes  and  be  able  to  say  just  what  he 
wants  to  say  with  them,  but  while  reading  his  notes 
he  cannot  watch  the  audience.  The  speaker  who  can 
look  his  audience  in  the  eyes,  can  get  them  to  look 
into  his  face,  and  have  something  to  say  is  the  one 
who  will  hold  their  attention.  Then  there  is  another 
advantage.     When  he  sees  that  his  audience  is  sleepy, 


86     AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

looking  arotind  and  becoming  restless,  he  can  sit 
down,  and  that  man  is  a  success  who  sits  down  at 
such  a  time  instead  of  going  ahead  and  trying  to 
rouse  an  interest  by  scolding,  storming  and  shouting 
the  louder.  Noise  will  not  fill  the  place  of  thought. 
Some  noisy  sermons  would  look  ridiciilous  if  written 
out  and  printed.  Now,  what  I  have  said  does  not 
prevent  study  beforehand.  It  does  not  mean  that  the 
sermon  shall  not  be  written  out  and  thought  over 
and  the  mind  filled  with  it.  On  the  other  hand,  it 
makes  it  more  necessary.  Then,  from  a  well-filled 
storehouse  let  the  Spirit  draw  out  things  new  and 
old.  It  may  require  the  burning  of  midnight  oil  to 
prepare  the  sermon,  but  let  the  Spirit  so  permeate 
it  that  it  will  take  all  the  smell  of  the  oil  out  of  it. 
Thus,  with  a  heart  filled  with  love,  send  the  message 
forth  to  fill  the  hungry  souls  of  those  who  are  longing 
for  it.  It  will  find  a  place.  When  once  you  have 
hold  of  an  audience,  don't  go  on  until  you  lose  that 
hold.  Study,  if  necessary,  in  order  to  preach  short 
sermons.  You  can  preach  a  long  time  without  much 
thought  by  going  over  stereotyped  phrases  and  telling 
anecdotes,  talking  about  these  and  what  you  have 
done.  Let  your  illustrations  be  appropriate,  to  the 
point  and  short.  Above  all  and  over  all,  hide  behind 
the  cross.  Remember  Jesus  says,  "I,  if  I  be  lifted 
up,  will  draw  all  men  unto  me. "  He  is  the  greatest 
preacher  who  can  lift  up  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  he 
who  can  sotmd  with  a  bugle  note,  "  Behold  the  Lamb 
of  God." 

At  Greenfield  Monthly  Meeting,  held  Eighth 
month  1 8,  i860,  the  proper  authorities  brought  the 
names  of  my  wife  and  myself  before  the  monthly 
meeting  to  be  appointed  elders.     This  was  very  try- 


BEGINNINGS  IN  THE  MINISTRY      87 

ing,  especially  to  my  wife,  who  had  been  brought  up 
in  the  meeting,  for  there  were  a  nimiber  of  old  people 
sitting  on  the  front  seats  whom  she  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  look  up  to  as  elders.  The  proposition 
being  tmited  with,  we  accepted  the  responsibilities 
devolving  upon  us  in  the  spirit  of  resignation,  praying 
that  God  would  help  us  to  fill  the  place  to  His  glory. 
Our  friends  were  kind  and  excused  us  from  taking 
prominent  seats  in  the  meeting. 

The   Call   to   Preach   the   Gospel 

Diuing  all  these  months  of  active  labor  in  farm- 
ing, church  and  educational  work,  the  impression  was 
consciously  growing  upon  me  that  the  Lord  was 
calling  me  to  preach  the  gospel.  It  brought  me  into 
deep  spiritual  trial.  I  was  bom  with  a  harelip  and  a 
cleft  palate,  and,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  my 
lip  was  sewed  up  the  day  I  was  eight  months  old, 
and  the  operation  proved  successful,  so  that  the 
deformity  was  not  noticeable,  the  cleft  palate 
remained  and  could  not  be  fiilly  remedied.  At  the 
age  of  fifteen  I  began  to  wear  a  false  palate.  Al- 
though this  helped  some,  my  voice  was  still  very 
imperfect  and  it  was  difficult  for  strangers  to  under- 
stand me.  Often  when  I  began  to  speak  the  young 
people  in  the  congregation  would  begin  to  laugh. 
But  I  will  not  dwell  upon  this  deformity.  No  one 
will  ever  know  what  I  passed  through.  It  was  my 
thorn  in  the  flesh  and  cost  me  many  bitter  hours  of 
sorrow.  I  wanted  to  preach  and  felt  I  could  not. 
In  a  measure  I  believed  I  knew  how  Paul  felt  when 
he  prayed  that  his  "thorn  in  the  flesh"  might  be 
removed,  and  in  some  degree,  I  have  heard  the 
message,  "  My  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee. "    To  this 


88     AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

day  I  never  rise  to  speak,  especially  before  strangers, 
without  thinking  about  this  affliction,  though  I  have 
reached  the  experience  that  enables  me  to  say, 
"Here  I  am,  and  if  Thou  canst  get  any  glory  out  of 
my  infirmities,  I  will  rejoice  and  give  Thee  all  the 
praise."  It  is  said  that  so  many  who  have  good 
voices  refuse  to  use  them  to  speak  well  of  His  name 
who  has  crowned  them  with  so  many  blessings. 
One  day  about  this  time,  while  working  in  the  har- 
vest field,  a  messenger  came,  saying  that  David 
Tatum,  who  was  paying  what  we  called  religious 
visits  to  the  families  of  our  meeting,  had  come  to 
visit  our  family.  I  went  to  the  house  and  on  my 
way  prayed  that  if  the  Lord  was  calling  me  to  that 
work  He  would  show  it  to  his  servant  and  that  he 
would  be  led  to  tell  me.  Soon  after  we  sat  down 
in  silence,  he  commenced  speaking,  and  his  subject 
was  faithfulness  in  the  ministry.  Just  as  I  was 
thinking  it  might  be  for  my  wife,  he  turned  towards 
me  and  said,  "I  mean  thee,  my  brother."  Then 
he  went  on  to  tell  me  that  the  Lord  had  called  me 
and  I  must  not  be  disobedient,  adding:  "If  thou 
art  faithful,  thou  shalt  see  many  souls  saved  by  thy 
ministry,  and  thou  shalt  cross  the  ocean  more  than 
once  and  preach  the  gospel  in  other  lands, "  and  more 
that  I  need  not  mention  here.  The  dear  old  man  is 
living  yet,  in  Chicago,  over  ninety  years  old.  A  few 
months  ago,  when  I  met  him,  we  spoke  of  that  day. 
He  had  a  clear  remembrance  of  the  message.  Not 
long  after  this  I  was  called  to  visit  a  young  woman 
who  was  thought  to  be  near  the  close  of  her  life.  As 
I  returned  home  through  the  woods,  about  i  o'clock 
that  night,  I  threw  myself  down  on  the  groimd  and 
surrendered  all  to  my  Heavenly  Father,  promising 


BEGINNINGS  IN  THE  MINISTRY      89 

to  say  what  He  wanted  me  to  say  and  go  where  He 
wanted  me  to  go.  From  that  hour  I  have  loved  to 
tell  the  story  of  the  gospel  the  best  I  can,  I  con- 
tinued to  live  an  active  life  on  the  farm  and  to  attend 
to  such  religious  work  in  connection  with  the  church 
and  school  as  came  to  me.  To  the  satisfaction,  I 
believe,  of  my  friends,  after  the  proper  authorities 
had  paid  the  necessary  attention  to  the  matter,  they 
proposed  my  name  to  the  monthly  meeting  as  one 
called  to  preach  the  Gospel.  Greenfield  Monthly 
Meeting,  held  Fifth  month  21,  1864,  recorded  me  a 
minister  of  the  gospel  of  Christ.  I  think  it  right  to 
say  here  that  I  have  often  thanked  my  Heavenly 
Father  that  he  gave  me  a  wife  who  encouraged  and 
helped  me  in  the  work,  always  giving  me  up  cheer- 
fully when  I  felt  that  duty  called  me  to  leave  home. 
It  meant  much  to  her,  with  the  care  of  the  home  and 
the  little  children.  Often  when  my  friends  encour- 
aged me  and  spoke  of  my  faithfiilness,  I  felt  she 
needed  it  more  than  I  did.  Hers  was  the  greater 
sacrifice.  The  Master  will  know  how  to  bestow  the 
reward.  She  was  a  real  helpmate  and  was  anxious 
that  I  should  do  the  work  well.  She  would  tell  me  of 
my  mistakes  in  grammar,  pronunciation  and  ges- 
tures, sometimes  showing  me  how  I  stood  in  the  gal- 
lery, and  what  I  did  with  my  hands.  She  taught  me 
to  keep  my  hands  out  of  my  pockets  while  I  was 
talking.  She  labored  hard  to  break  me  of  the  habit 
of  speaking  so  loud  and  being  so  boisterous  when 
preaching.  She  never  became  discouraged,  but  kept 
on  and  sometimes  in  a  way  that  bore  fruit.  I  will 
always  remember  one  morning  when  I  was  going  to 
drive  ten  miles  to  attend  the  quarterly  meeting  I 
had  bade  her  farewell  and  started  to  drive  away 


90     AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

when  I  heard  her  calling.  Looking  around,  I  saw 
her  coming  down  the  steps.  She  came  up  to  me  with 
a  very  solemn  face  and  said  very  deliberately:  "My 
dear,  I  am  going  to  be  very  busy  to-day  and  will  not 
have  time  to  listen,  so  thee  need  not  preach  loud 
enough  for  me  to  hear."  Then  she  turned  around 
without  a  smile,  leaving  me  sitting  there,  and  went 
into  the  house.  When  I  commenced  speaking  that 
day,  I  remembered  she  was  ten  miles  away.  Blessed 
is  the  preacher  who  has  such  a  faithful  wife,  and 
twice  blessed  is  he  who  listens  to  her. 

Visiting   Families   and   "Speaking   to   Conditions" 

The  first  minute  that  I  ever  took  out  for  religious 
service  after  I  was  recorded  a  minister  of  the  Gospel 
was  dated  Tenth  month  15,1864.  It  read  as  follows  : 
"  To  hold  myself  resigned  to  visit,  in  the  love  of  the 
Gospel,  the  families  and  individuals  of  our  old  quar- 
terly meeting  (Concord),  and  perhaps  a  few  who 
have  been  but  are  not  now  in  membership  with  us. " 
I  was  accompanied  on  this  visit  by  a  very  dear 
friend,  William  E.  Morris.  We  were  closely  tmited 
in  the  work,  felt  the  bvu"den  resting  upon  us  and 
endeavored  to  keep  our  minds  open  to  the  leading  of 
the  spirit,  that  our  message  might  be  adapted  to  the 
conditions  of  those  we  were  visiting.  It  is  a  strain, 
both  physically  and  mentally,  upon  those  who  labor 
thus  day  after  day  for  a  number  of  days.  I  remem- 
ber well  after  we  had  visited  the  last  family,  and  we 
started  to  walk  to  the  nearest  station  where  I  could 
take  the  train  for  home,  we  went  through  the  woods 
for  some  distance.  We  felt  like  two  boys,  telling 
stories,  jumping  over  logs,  climbing  bushes,  laugh- 
ing and  enjoying  ourselves  generally.     It  might  have 


BEGINNINGS  IN  THE  MINISTRY      91 

looked  foolish  to  others,  but  to  my  mind  it  was  a 
relaxation  that  the  Heavenly  Father  gave  to  two  of 
his  children  who  had  been  trying  to  do  his  bidding. 
To  this  day,  I  look  back  with  pleasure  to  that  boyish 
romp  in  the  woods  that  beautiful  afternoon.  It  was 
a  relaxation  that  was  good  for  mind  and  body,  a  fit 
preparation  for  the  next  work  the  Master  might  give 
us  to  do.  I  have  met  with  some  ministers  whose 
preaching  would  have  been  improved  if  they  had 
taken  a  good  romp  with  some  little  boys  on  the 
ground  and  had  laughed  until  their  lungs  were  thor- 
oughly expanded. 

The  first  ten  minutes  that  I  received  from  my 
monthly  meeting  for  religious  service  were  largely 
for  family  visiting,  which,  to  my  mind,  requires 
close  attention  to  the  leading  of  the  Spirit.  It  is  a 
fruitful  source  of  good  if  well  done.  It  may  be 
neglected  too  much  by  ministers  of  the  present  day. 
It  is  easier  to  speak  to  a  mixed  crowd  than  to  go  and 
say :  "  Thou  art  the  man. "  It  is  the  way  our  Saviour 
reached  the  heart  of  the  woman  of  Samaria — "  He 
told  me  all  things  that  ever  I  did."  The  question 
has  often  been  asked  of  me  if  the  gift  of  speaking  to 
conditions  of  individuals  and  meetings  is  not  dying 
out.  Why  do  we  not  hear  more  of  that  kind  of 
preaching  at  the  present  time?  In  reply  I  will  say 
that  every  good  gift  of  our  Heavenly  Father  can  be 
increased  by  faithful  use  or  diminished  by  neglect. 
The  pound  may  be  made  five  or  ten  pounds,  or  it  can 
be  buried  in  a  napkin.  As  I  have  said,  my  first 
religious  work  was  mostly  that  of  family  visiting; 
during  the  first  three  years  of  my  ministerial  labor 
I  visited  between  three  and  four  thousand  families. 
The  gift  of  speaking  to  individuals  grew  upon  me. 


92     AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

I  would  speak  modestly  of  my  experience,  but  these 
impressions  grew  upon  me  in  those  days,  so  that 
when  I  went  into  a  home  I  often  found  myself  look- 
ing at  the  spiritual  life  of  the  different  members  of  the 
family  and  formed  the  habit  of  speaking  to  individual 
members  rather  than  to  the  family  as  a  group. 
Sometimes  individuals  have  come  to  me  after- 
wards and  inquired,  "Who  told  you  about  me?" 
In  some  instances  they  would  accuse  my  companion 
of  having  told  their  history.  As  an  illustration, 
I  will  give  one  instance,  if  my  friend  will  excuse 
me  for  doing  so.  I  was  visiting  the  Friends'  homes 
in  a  certain  town.  There  were  forty  families  that 
I  wanted  to  call  upon  in  one  day  and  return  home 
on  the  train  that  night  at  lo  o'clock.  The  program 
was  made  out  the  night  before,  and  messengers  were 
sent  ahead  the  next  morning  telling  each  family  about 
what  hour  I  would  reach  their  home.  I  requested 
the  friend  who  walked  with  me  not  to  talk  with  me 
or  claim  my  attention,  but  simply  to  show  me  the 
way. 

Coming  to  one  home,  as  I  opened  the  gate 
the  text  found  in  Psalms  42:11  came  up,  and  as  I 
opened  the  door  the  father  and  mother  were  sitting 
there  with  their  two  little  children.  So  as  I  walked 
to  the  chair  waiting  for  me,  I  repeated  this  text: 
"  Why  art  thou  cast  down,  O  my  soul?  and  why  art 
thou  so  disquieted  within  me?  Hope  thou  in  God: 
for  I  shall  yet  praise  Him,  who  is  the  health  of  my 
countenance,  and  my  God."  I  then  delivered  a 
message  to  the  wife,  then  one  to  the  husband  and 
a  few  words  to  the  children,  after  which  I  offered 
prayer  and  went  out.  I  thought  nothing  more 
about  the  message.     It  was  lost,  with  a  himdred 


BEGINNINGS  IN  THE  MINISTRY      93 

others.  Some  five  years  afterwards,  while  Uving 
in  North  Carolina,  a  letter  was  received  from  this 
woman  telling  me  I  had  saved  her  life,  as  she  had 
poison  in  the  drawer  with  which  to  take  her  life, 
which  she  intended  doing  at  10  o'clock  that  morn- 
ing, but  just  before  the  hour  the  messenger  came 
and  told  her  that  I  would  be  there  at  11  o'clock. 
So  she  had  concluded  to  wait  until  after  the  visit, 
during  which  I  told  her  that  she  had  been  so  dis- 
obedient to  her  Heavenly  Father's  call  that  she  had 
brought  darkness  upon  her  sold  and  had  been 
tempted  to  take  her  natural  life,  and  then,  in  the 
words  of  the  Psalmist,  told  her  to  hope  in  God  for 
she  would  yet  praise  Him  who  was  the  health  of  her 
countenance  and  her  God.  So  after  her  husband 
and  I  had  gone  out,  she  said  to  an  intimate  friend 
who  came  in  immediately,  "  I  will  try  once  more  to 
be  faithful,  and  see  if  the  message  is  true, "  then  rose 
and  going  to  the  drawer,  took  out  the  poison  and 
threw  it  into  the  fire.  The  next  time  I  met  her  she 
was  a  recorded  minister  and  was  engaged  in  religious 
service.  Others  have  come  to  me  as  I  have  traveled 
around  over  the  field  where  I  visited  thirty-five  or 
forty  years  ago,  and  have  told  me  that  when  visiting 
their  home  I  had  spoken  to  their  condition  so  closely 
that  they  were  enabled  to  settle  the  question  and 
give  their  hearts  to  God.  Let  all  the  praise  be  given 
to  Him  who  has  said,  "I  will  guide  thee  with  Mine 
eye." 

At  the  end  of  four  years,  in  1868,  I  entered  the 
field  to  labor  in  connection  with  the  Baltimore  Asso- 
ciation work  in  the  limits  of  North  Carolina  Yearly 
Meeting.  There  my  labor  was  different.  I  was 
called  to  look  after  the  school  work,  talk  on  educa- 


94     AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

tion,  preach  to  large  and  hungry  congregations,  many 
of  whom  had  not  heard  preaching  during  the  war. 
It  was  the  multitude  now  that  I  ministered  to  instead 
of  the  individual.     So  in  the  exercise  of  my  gift  my 
work  was  not  pointing  out  the  conditions  of  families 
and  individuals,  but  preaching  the  need  of  salvation 
to  the  unsaved  multitude.     Consequently  the  special 
gift  became  of  a  more  general  character.     Another 
reason  why  we  do  not  have  this  special  gift  to  point 
out  states  and  conditions  is  that  when  the  revival 
spirit   came   upon   the   church   the    ministry   was 
changed.     The    revivalist    stirred    the    sinner    by 
appealing  to  the  emotions,  telling  stories,  giving 
illustrations  and  warning  the  sinner  to  flee  from  the 
wrath  to  come,  until  sometimes  perhaps  the  emo- 
tional entered  into  the  work  in  undue  proportion. 
Then,    as   is   usual,    another   extreme  came.     The 
doctrinal  followed  and  we  produced  a  generation  of 
theologians  who  endeavored  to  present  the  gospel  in 
a  systematic  way.     Again,  these  have  been  followed 
by  those  who  were  trying  to  reach  ,the  heart  through 
the  intellect,  and  their  sermons  appeal  to  the  reason 
and  judgment.     Finally,  we  have  the  sermons  on 
moral  and  reformatory  subjects,  and  the  various 
issues  of  the  day,  which  sometimes  savor  more  of  a 
lecture  than  of  a  sermon.     Now,  all  these  are  good 
and  have  a  tendency  to  advance  the  Redeemer's 
kingdom,  and  I  am  not  ready  to  condemn  those 
who  are  called  to  labor  in  that  way,  but  I  have 
prayed   that   the  remaining   time  of  my  ministry 
may  be  more  and  more  like  that  of  the  blessed 
Master,  simple,  easy  to  be  understood  and  direct 
to  the  heart  of  the  hearer.     I  wish  we  all  preached 
more  like  him  who  "spake  as  never  man  spake." 


Chapter  X 

THE  DRAFT  DURING  THE  CIVIL  WAR 

The  year  before  the  close  of  the  war  a  draft  was 
made  through  Indiana  for  soldiers.  There  was  a 
sentiment  among  those  in  authority  that  Friends 
were  not  bearing  their  proportion  of  the  expense  and 
privation  in  carrying  forward  the  war.  There  had 
been  no  draft  made  within  the  State,  so  that  those 
who  did  not  believe  it  was  right  for  them  to  volunteer 
and  enter  the  army  had  been  left  out.  Those  in 
charge  of  conducting  the  war  proposed  that  a  draft 
be  made  upon  those  who  were  conscientiously  op- 
posed to  fighting  and  that  they  thus  be  called  upon 
either  to  enter  the  service  or  pay  the  sum  of  three 
hundred  dollars  to  carry  forward  the  war.  When 
the  draft  was  made,  my  name  was  one  that  was 
drawn  along  with  those  of  several  other  young 
Friends,  two  others  in  our  little  meeting.  It  created 
a  good  deal  of  excitement  among  some  of  our  Friends. 
The  two  other  young  Friends  paid  their  three  hvm- 
dred  dollars  each,  but  I  felt  it  right  to  do  nothing, 
feeling  that  I  could  not  go  myself  nor  give  money  to 
hire  others  to  go.  The  proper  military  officer  came 
out  and  notified  me  that  I  would  be  expected  to 
report  in  the  military  camp  at  Lafayette,  Indiana, 
for  training,  on  a  certain  day.  I  told  him  that  I 
could  not  conscientiously  be  there,  that  as  I  could 
not  fight  it  would  not  do  any  good  for  me  to  report. 
Then  he  demanded  the  three  hundred  dollars.     To 

(95) 


96     AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

this  I  replied:  "If  I  believed  that  war  was  right  I 
would  prefer  to  go  myself  rather  than  to  hire  some- 
one else  to  be  shot  in  my  place. "  I  said  that  I  be- 
lieved our  Saviour  meant  what  he  said  when  he  said  : 
"Thou  shalt  not  kill,"  and  "My  kingdom  is  not  of 
this  world,"  and  that  therefore  his  followers  could 
not  fight,  and  that  I  took  the  position  of  the  Chris- 
tians during  the  first  century,  when  called  upon  to 
bear  arms,  whose  simple  reply  was,  "  I  am  a  Chris- 
tian and  therefore  cannot  fight."  After  a  long 
conversation  he  left.  A  few  days  later  he  returned 
and  asked  me  to  reconsider  my  decision  and  place 
three  hundred  dollars  so  he  could  find  it.  He  came 
the  third  time,  to  the  orchard  where  I  was  gathering 
apples,  and  told  me  I  would  either  have  to  come  or 
pay  the  three  hundred  dollars,  or  he  would  be  forced 
to  sell  my  property  and  collect  the  money.  As  I 
was  firm  in  my  decision,  he  went  into  the  house  and 
tried  to  get  my  wife  to  tell  him  where  he  could  find 
the  money.  She  told  him  she  felt  as  I  did  and  that 
she  could  do  nothing  but  suffer.  '  He  then  went  out 
and  looked  over  the  farm,  selecting  the  stock  that 
he  proposed  to  sell  and  then  sat  down  and  com- 
menced writing  bills  for  the  public  sale  of  our  horses, 
cattle  and  hogs.  While  he  was  writing,  dinner  was 
ready,  and  when  we  sat  down  to  the  table  we  insisted 
on  his  eating  with  us.  We  tried  to  keep  up  a  pleas- 
ant conversation  on  various  subjects,  making  no 
reference  to  the  work  he  was  engaged  in.  After  din- 
ner he  turned  to  me  and  said,  "  If  you  woiild  get  mad 
and  order  me  out  of  the  house,  I  could  do  this  work 
much  easier,  but  here  you  are  feeding  me  and  my 
horse  while  I  am  arranging  to  take  your  property 
from  you.     I  tell  you  it's  hard  work."     We  told 


DRAFT  DURING  THE  CIVIL  WAR      97 

him  we  had  no  unkind  feeHngs  toward  him,  as  we 
supposed  he  was  only  obeying  the  orders  of  those 
who  were  superior  to  him.  I  went  out  again  to  my 
work  and  when  he  had  prepared  the  sale  bills  he 
placed  one  on  a  large  tree  by  the  roadside  in  front  of 
the  house  and  then  rode  around  and  placed  the 
others  in  different  places  in  the  neighborhood.  A 
few  days  before  the  time  had  arrived  for  the  sale,  I 
was  at  Lafayette."  He  came  to  me  and  said,  "The 
sale  is  postponed.  I  don't  know  when  it  will  be. 
You  can  go  on  using  your  horses. "  I  heard  nothing 
more  about  it  for  several  years.  After  the  war 
closed  I  learned  that  Governor  Morton,  who  was  in 
Washington  about  that  time,  spoke  to  President 
Lincoln  about  it  and  he  ordered  the  sale  to  be 
stopped.  My  dear  wife  and  I  never  worried  a 
moment  about  it,  for  we  felt  that  we  were  doing  the 
will  of  Him  who  had  condemned  all  war.  So  we  were 
kept  in  peace  and  quietness  through  it  all.  But 
some  of  our  neighbors  who  were  not  Friends  were 
much  troubled,  and  when  the  war  was  over  we  were 
informed  that  three  or  fotir  of  our  wealthy  farmer 
neighbors  had  agreed  among  themselves  that  when 
the  sale  came  off  they  would  buy  up  the  horses  for 
the  three  hundred  dollars,  pay  the  money  over  to  the 
officer  and  leave  the  horses  on  the  farm  as  mine, 
so  that  we  should  not  be  at  any  loss  on  account  of  our 
religious  principles.  When  we  see  how  incompatible 
war  is  with  the  Gospel  of  Christ  it  is  indeed  strange 
that  those  who  claim  to  be  His  followers  so  utterly 
ignore  His  teachings  and  substitute  that  of  man  in 
place  of  His  declaration  that  it  is  no  longer  an 
"eye  for  an  eye,"  or  a  "tooth  for  a  tooth," 
but  "love  your  enemies,  and  pray  for  them  that 


98     AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

despitefully  use  you  and  persecute  you."  It  has 
always  been  pleasant  to  look  back  and  to  feel 
that  in  a  little  measure  we  bore  our  testimony  to 
the  peaceable  nature  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ. 


Chapter  XI 

THE  SETTING  UP  OF  WESTERN  YEARLY 
MEETING 

In  1858  Western  Yearly  Meeting  was  set  up  by 
Indiana  Yearly  Meeting.  The  opening  was  con- 
ducted by  a  committee  appointed  by  Indiana  Yearly 
Meeting  and  several  other  yearly  meetings  were 
represented  by  committees  who  were  present  and 
added  interest  to  the  occasion.  Iowa  Yearly  Meet- 
ing was  set  up  by  Indiana  and  opened  at  Oskaloosa 
in  1863,  which  was  followed  by  Kansas  Yearly 
Meeting,  opened  at  Lawrence,  Kansas,  in  1872,  and 
Wilmington  Yearly  Meeting,  opened  at  Wilmington, 
Ohio,  in  1892.  In  the  setting  up  of  Western  Yearly 
Meeting,  our  quarterly  meeting  at  Honey  Creek  was 
included  in  its  limits,  so  that  we  were  members  of 
Western  Yearly  Meeting  until  1868,  when  we  moved 
to  North  Carolina.  But  more  of  that  later  on.  In 
the  year  i860.  Western  Yearly  Meeting  appointed  a 
committee  to  visit  all  of  its  subordinate  meetings, 
and  individuals  as  way  might  open,  and  labor  for 
their  help  and  encouragement.  This  committee  was 
continued  in  1861,  and  was  composed  of  the  follow- 
ing Friends,  namely,  Eleazer  Bales,  Henry  Wilson, 
Calvin  Wasson,  Robert  W.  Hodson,  Nathan  Elliott, 
Isaac  Baldwin,  Matthew  Stanley,  Andrew  D.  Tom- 
linson,  Martha  Wilson,  Sarah  Hiatt,  Drusilla  Wil- 
son, Mary  Day,  Hannah  B.  Tatimi,  Margaret  M. 
Bradfield,  Rachel  H.  Woodard,  Catherine   Elliott, 

(99) 


loo   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

Phoebe  G.  Taylor  and  Allen  Jay.  I  remained  a 
member  of  this  committee  for  four  years,  diiring 
which  time  we  visited  all  the  quarterly  meetings, 
and  many  of  the  individual  meetings  and  families. 
All  the  members  of  this  committee  except  myself 
were  advanced  in  years  and  religious  experience.  I 
was  a  boy  among  them,  being  in  my  twenty-ninth 
year.  It  w^s  a  School  of  the  Prophets  to  me.  They 
had  all  been  in  the  service  of  the  Chtirch  for  a  nimiber 
of  years.  All  were  ministers  or  elders.  They  have 
all  passed  away  except  myself  and  one  other,  Mar- 
garet Bradfield,  now  Margaret  Newsome,  who  lives 
in  California. 

As  we  went  from  one  quarterly  meeting  to 
another,  trying  to  estimate  conditions,  build  up  the 
Church,  and  laboring  to  draw  the  young  into  active 
service,  I  had  the  opportunity  of  studying  the  lives 
and  characters  of  the  members  of  this  committee  and 
becoming  acquainted  with  their  Christian  spirit  and 
spiritual  discernment  in  matters  connected  with  the 
Lord's  work.  I  was  often  impressed  with  the  gentle 
and  loving  spirit  manifested  by  the  different  mem- 
bers of  this  committee  towards  those  who  through 
weakness  and  frailty  had  missed  their  way.  I  could 
not  but  realize  the  fact  that  they  had  known  and 
experienced  a  definite  religious  experience  and  knew 
the  voice  of  God,  though  their  training  had  been 
such  that  they  did  not  often  say  much  about  it. 
Perhaps  it  would  have  been  better  for  the  Chiu"ch  had 
they  been  faithful  in  telling  what  the  Lord  had  done 
for  them.  It  would  have  strengthened  others  and 
honored  their  Saviour.  But  unquestionably  they 
were  men  and  women  of  God,  and  knew  the  leading 
of  His  Spirit.     Especially  were  dear  Calvin  Wasson 


WESTERN  YEARLY  MEETING       loi 

and  Drusilla  Wilson  led  to  see  the  spiritual  struggle 
through  which  I  was  passing  and  to  extend  a  helping 
hand  in  the  right  way  and  at  the  right  time. 

Now  I  come  to  speak  of  the  sadness  which  was 
brought  over  my  mind  when,  a  few  years  later,  after 
T  had  left  the  yearly  meeting,  I  learned  that  several 
of  these  dear  Friends  felt  that  they  must  leave 
the  yearly  meeting  and  set  up  another  nearby, 
because  they  felt  that  those  who  called  themselves 
revivalists  were  introducing  extremes  and  practices 
in  the  meetings  for  worship  that  they  could  not 
endorse  or  submit  to.  I  believe  to  this  day  that  it 
was  a  mistake  on  both  sides.  Indeed,  I  think  it  is 
doubtful  whether  separations  are  ever  beneficial  in 
advancing  the  kingdom  of  God.  Those  who  re- 
mained needed  the  weight,  stability  and  spiritual 
judgment  of  those  who  left,  and  those  who  left 
needed  some  of  the  earnestness  and  zeal  of  those  who, 
as  they  felt,  had  driven  them  out  by  trying  to  force 
them  to  adopt  some  practices  that  they  could  not 
conscientiously  adopt.  Had  they  remained  together, 
some  of  the  extreme  things  that  have  been  done 
would  not  have  occurred.  Neither  would  those  who 
went  out  have  seen  their  ntmibers  diminishing  and 
their  yoimg  people  drifting  away  from  them.  They 
needed  each  other  and  the  Church  needed  them  all. 

The  student  of  church  history  will  not  have 
to  go  far  to  find  that,  in  those  yearly  meetings 
where  the  greatest  extravagances  have  t'aken  place 
and  spiritual  fanaticism  has  come  in,  the  con- 
servative element  has  been  eliminated  by  separation. 
Sometimes  when  I  hear  some  of  the  evangelists 
boasting  of  how  they  carried  on  the  revival  work 
in  spite  of  the  old  Friends  of  other  days,  I  wonder 


102   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

whether  He,  who  has  said  that  it  would  be  better 
for  a  man  to  have  a  millstone  hanged  about 
his  neck  and  be  cast  into  the  sea  than  to  offend  one 
of  these  little  ones,  does  not  see  something  on  the 
other  side  that  the  evangelist  in  his  zeal  does  not  see. 
It  was  a  sad  picture  that  day  to  see  those  old 
Friends,  with  the  tears  rolling  down  their  aged  cheeks, 
walking  out  of  the  meeting-house  because  they  felt 
they  could  not  worship  with  their  brethren.  They 
were  mistaken,  but  was  all  the  mistake  on  their  side? 
The  Master  knows. 

Thinking  this  over,  I  have  sometimes  been  re- 
minded, when  seeing  the  zeal  of  some  in  pressing 
their  views  and  doctrines,  of  a  little  incident  in  my 
schoolboy  days.  In  our  neighborhood  we  had  a 
school  in  the  summer,  called  a  subscription  school, 
which  was  attended  by  children  who  were  not  old 
enough  to  work  in  the  field  during  the  summer.  For 
some  reason  there  was  one  grown  young  man  among 
us.  He  had  no  one  of  his  age  to  play  with.  He 
tried  to  find  some  way  of  entertaining  himself.  One 
day  he  stood  up  against  a  tree  and  said  to  us  little 
fellows,  "  I  am  going  to  yon  tree,  and  you  cannot 
hinder  me. "  It  was  a  dare  and  we  took  him  up  and 
prepared  to  resist.  Two  or  three  got  hold  of  each 
leg,  two  or  three  hung  on  to  each  arm,  and  the 
remainder  lined  up  in  two  rows  in  front.  We  then 
announced  that  we  were  ready  for  the  fray.  He 
started,  striking  those  who  were  hanging  to  him  and 
walking  right  over  the  line  of  opposition  in  front 
of  him,  stepping  on  some  of  the  poor  feet,  knocking 
others  down,  kicking  those  loose  who  were  hanging 
to  his  legs,  and  finally  reached  his  goal.  But  when 
he  looked  back,  some  were  lying  on  the  ground  cry- 


WESTERN  YEARLY  MEETING       103 

ing,  and  others  were  going  to  tell  the  teacher  and 
show  their  wounded  toes  and  fingers.  He  had 
reached  the  tree,  but  did  he  have  much  to  boast  of 
when  we  count  the  wounds  that  he  had  inflicted? 
The  revivalists  may  walk  over  the  feelings  of  those 
who  cannot  endorse  their  actions  and  still  love  the 
Master  as  well  as  they  do.  .  God  holds  them  all  alike 
precious  in  his  sight.  George  Fox  said,  "Friends, 
be  careful  where  you  place  your  feet,  for  you  may 
tread  upon  some  of  the  precious  flowers  springing  up 
out  of  God's  earth."  John  Woolman  said,  "I 
waited  several  years  until  Philadelphia  Yearly 
Meeting  was  ready  to  receive  my  message  on  the 
subject  of  human  slavery,  so  as  not  to  create  discord 
in  the  body. "  He  lived  to  see  the  results  he  longed 
for  without  making  bitter  feelings  and  separation. 
The  Master  said,  "  I  send  you  forth  as  sheep  among 
wolves.  Be  ye  therefore  wise  as  serpents  and  harm- 
less as  doves. " 


Chapter  XII 
THE  ERA  OF  SEPARATION 

Anti-slavery  Agitation 

The  first  testimony  that  we  have  concerning 
slavery  is  that  of  George  Fox,  while  in  the  Island  of 
Barbadoes,  in  167 1.  In  this  he  urges  humane  treat- 
ment of  the  slaves,  and,  after  a  time  of  slavery,  that 
they  be  set  free.  Friends,  for  a  time,  did  not  regard 
the  holding  of  slaves,  when  well  treated,  as  wrong; 
but  their  point  of  view  gradually  changed,  and  in 
1783  they  sent  their  first  petition  to  Parliament. 
The  same  year  a  Quaker  Committee  was  formed, 
consisting  of  William  Dillwyn,  George  Harrison, 
Samuel  Hoare,  Thomas  Knoles,  John  Lloyd,  and 
Joseph  Woods.  Friends  never  ceased  their  efforts 
until  the  slaves  were  freed.  In  America,  the  first 
public  presentation  of  the  subject  was  by  some  Ger- 
man Friends  near  Philadelphia,  in  1688,  but  neither 
the  monthly  nor  quarterly  meetings  took  it  up.  In 
1774  there  was  a  minute  disowning  any  member  of 
Philadelphia  Yearly  Meeting  who  continued  to  hold 
slaves  or  had  any  part  in  the  slave  business.  The 
history  of  this  change  of  sentiment  in  Philadelphia 
is  very  interesting,  and  even  more  so  is  the  history  of 
North  Carolina  Yearly  Meeting,  as  it  labored  to  free 
itself  from  the  evil  of  slavery,  located,  as  it  was,  in  a 
slave-holding  State.  It  is  not  our  purpose  to  go  into 
this  in  detail.     It   has   been  written  by   Friends 

(104) 


THE  ERA  OF  SEPARATION  105 

better  prepared  to  do  so.  In  1836  an  epistle  from 
London  to  Indiana  Yearly  Meeting  expressed  the 
sympathy  of  English  Friends  with  those  in  America, 
and,  while  recognizing  that  the  difficulties  of  Ameri- 
can Friends  were  greater  than  those  of  Friends  in 
England,  in  a  similar  struggle,  urged  Friends  to  be 
zealous  in  testifying  against  slavery.  This  was  well 
received,  and  Friends  were  urged  to  practice  and 
testify  in  favor  of  abolition.  From  1836  to  1840 
the  testimonies  remained  about  the  same.  Some, 
more  zealous  than  others,  began  forming  abolition 
societies  and  opening  the  meeting-houses  for  aboli- 
tion lectures.  This  the  more  conservative  members 
opposed,  believing  it  well  to  keep  the  testimony  clear 
and  faithful,  but  discouraging  the  more  aggressive 
zeal.  The  slavery  question  was  at  this  time  causing 
great  excitement  all  over  the  country,  and  the  yearly 
meeting  minutes  to  the  monthly  and  quarterly  meet- 
ings \irged  Friends  not  to  join  with  those  who  did 
not  profess  to  wait  for  divine  gtiidance,  and  under 
the  weight  of  this  concern  to  watch  attentively  for 
every  right  opening  and  to  move  therein  in  a  united 
body.  All  this  time  the  yearly  meeting  had  a  stand- 
ing committee,  called  the  African  Committee,  who 
were  doing  all  they  could  towards  schooling  colored 
children,  holding  Bible  schools  for  the  adults,  circu- 
lating tracts,  and  seeing  that  they  received  justice  in 
individual  cases. 

Separation  in  Indiana  Tearly  Meeting 

The  immediate  causes  of  the  separation  in 
Indiana  occurred  during  the  yearly  meeting  of  1842. 
On  Seventh-day  morning,  Tenth  month  i,  1842,  a 
minute  from  the  meeting  for  sufferings  was  read, 


io6  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

stating  that  four  members  of  that  meeting  were  dis- 
quaHfied  for  usefiilness  in  that  meeting.  These 
members  were  Benjamin  Stanton,  Jacob  Grave, 
William  Loche  and  Charles  Osborne,  who  were 
leaders  in  the  antislavery  movement.  The  meeting 
accepted  the  report  and  appointed  a  committee  to 
present  names  to  fill  the  vacancies.  Then,  on  the 
next  day,  Henry  Clay,  who  was  a  slaveholder  and, 
it  was  understood,  was  seeking  the  Whig  nomina- 
tion for  the  Presidency,  was  received  and  taken  to 
meeting  in  the  carriage  of  the  yearly  meeting's  clerk 
and  given  a  prominent  seat.  This,  many  Friends 
thought,  was  only  common  courtesy  to  a  stranger 
and  a  man  of  superior  talents;  but  the  antislavery 
element  regarded  it  as  an  open  insult.  Accordingly, 
they  made  an  effort  to  organize  before  the  close  of 
yearly  meeting,  but  this  effort  was  unsuccessful. 
However,  on  Second  month  7,  1843,  at  Newport, 
now  Fountain  City,  they  organized  a  meeting  of 
their  own.  The  meeting-house  was  divided  by  per- 
manent partitions,  and  each  party  had  its  own  side 
of  the  house.  The  feeling  was  also  very  strong  at 
Deer  Creek,  Grant  Coimty,  Indiana,  where  there 
was  a  division.  These  were  the  strongholds  of  the 
separatists,  though  some  members  throughout  the 
yearly  meeting  sympathized  with  them.  The  next 
autumn  the  antislavery  Friends  sent  an  epistle  to 
London  Yearly  Meeting,  which  it  refused  to  recog- 
nize. Also,  a  sealed  communication  was  sent  to 
Indiana  Yearly  Meeting,  which  it  refused  to  open. 
A  committee  from  England  came  over  to  labor 
and  to  restore  imity  among  the  membership,  but  it 
refused  to  recognize  the  antislavery  meeting.  There 
was  no  question  of  doctrine  involved,  simply  their 


THE  ERA  OF  SEPARATION  107 

attitude  towards  slavery.  The  antislavery  Friends 
accused  the  yeariy  meeting  of  thrusting  them  out 
without  a  hearing  and  silencing  their  testimonies 
against  slavery  for  the  sake  of  popularity.  They 
always  claimed  they  did  not  secede,  but  were  driven 
out.  They  delighted  to  call  the  Friends  who  did  not 
secede  "proslavery  Friends"  (a  name  which  they 
resented),  and  it  was  with  a  touch  of  sarcasm  that 
they  represented  the  body  of  the  yearly  meeting 
as  attending  elections  and  voting  for  slaveholders 
and  proslavery  committees,  faring  sumptuously 
every  day  on  the  wages  of  tmrighteousness,  the  gain 
of  oppression,  namely, "the  vmpaid  toil  of  the  down- 
trodden slave.  As  they  had  forbidden  antislavery 
meetings,  they  designated  the  leaders  of  the  yearly 
meeting  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  and  themselves 
the  followers  of  Christ  who  had  been  cast  out.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  meeting  at  large  was  careful  to 
have  nothing  to  do  with  antislavery  Friends,  and, 
in  the  opposition  to  their  zeal,  failed  to  see  that  it 
was  imder  a  very  real  sense  of  duty  and  a  feeling 
of  the  magnitude  of  the  evil  that  antislavery 
Friends  felt  that  they  could  not  even  modify  their 
own  testimony  without  compromising  principle. 
The  too  rigid  conservatism  they  would  not  submit 
to.  The  members  of  the  yearly  meeting,  however, 
were  in  favor  of  abolition,  but  were  conservative 
enough  to  want  to  test  the  new  movement.  In  the 
minutes  of  the  yearly  meeting  for  sufferings  it 
was  plain  that  they  advocated  tmconditional  eman- 
cipation, but  it  was  too  much  in  theory  and  not 
enough  in  aggressive  action.  They  were  much 
grieved  over  the  separation,  and  doubtless  the 
decided  action  of  the  antislavery  Friends  did  much 


io8   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

towards  awakening  the  yearly  meeting  to  more 
aggressive  action  in  regard  to  the  measures  they 
advocated. 

After  about  fourteen  years  of  separate  meetings, 
there  being  no  longer  a  call  for  separation,  the 
antislavery  Friends  returned,  about  1856.  The 
coming  back  was  gradual,  in  most  places  occupy- 
ing four  or  five  years.  Perhaps  some  concessions 
were  made  on  both  sides.  The  yearly  meeting  had 
become  more  open  and  aggressive  as  the  evil  grew  in 
magnitude.  The  other  party  had  lost  some  of  their 
overactive  zeal,  but  none  of  their  principle.  Each 
side  was  more  ready  to  listen  to  the  other  with  a 
kindly  feeling.  Here,  again,  the  future  historian 
will  be  able  to  see  that  there  was  no  real  cause  for 
separation.  The  proper  exercise  of  Christian  pa- 
tience on  the  part  of  both  would  have  enabled  them 
to  have  gone  forward  unitedly  in  the  work  they  were 
both  interested  in.  It  is  easy  for  us  sometimes  to 
imagine  that  we  are  persecuted  when  in  our  zeal 
we  are  not  permitted  to  go  ahead  atid  denounce  those 
who  do  not  see  things  as  we  do.  There  were  no 
differences  in  their  views  on  the  evil  of  slavery.  It 
was  a  difference  in  their  spirit  and  manner  of  fighting 
it.  Those  who  remained  thought  it  best  not  to  open 
their  meeting-houses  for  political  meetings  where 
the  speakers  said  bitter  things  against  the  Church 
and  all  who  did  not  join  with  them  and  use  their 
weapons  of  warfare.  In  our  quarterly  meeting, 
these  meetings  were  held  in  the  school-houses.  I 
remember  going  to  our  school-house,  with  my  father, 
to  hear  one  of  their  strongest  men  speak.  He  pro- 
nounced bitter  judgment  upon  the  Friends  who  were 
not  letting  him  speak  in  the  meeting-house.     While 


THE  ERA  OF  SEPARATION  109 

niy  father's  house  was  one  of  the  underground  rail- 
road stations,  and  for  a  while  he  bore  his  testimony 
against  slavery  by  buying  free-labor  goods,  thereby 
showing  his  belief  in  the  evil  of  slavery,  yet  he,  with 
others^  felt  it  right  to  keep  in  harmony  with  the 
yearly  meeting,  and  consequently  in  harmony  one 
with  another.  Bitterness  was  kept  out  and  no 
wounds  were  made  to  be  healed  afterwards,  and 
when  the  time  came  to  receive  the  dear  Friends  of 
Deer  Creek,  in  Grant  County,  Indiana,  back  into 
imity  with  the  church,  my  father's  voice  was  heard 
in  Mississinawa  Monthly  Meeting,  advocating  receiv- 
ing them  back  as  a  body  and  recognizing  them 
as  a  monthly  meeting  at  once,  and,  as  soon  as  possi- 
ble, recording  their  ministers  and  appointing  their 
elders. 

There  a  monthly  meeting  was  bom  in  a  day, 
in  harmony  with  Indiana  Yearly  Meeting.  That 
was  a  good  day  at  old  Mississinawa  Monthly  Meet- 
ing. The  past  was  to  be  forgotten,  and  hence- 
forth they  were  to  walk  together  in  the  work  of 
saving  souls. 

Those  who  were  active  on  both  sides  of  the  con- 
troversy are  nearly  all  gone.  Here  and  there  is  one 
who  remembers  those  days,  but  these  would  draw 
the  curtain  over  the  past  and  turn  their  faces  toward 
the  duties  of  the  twentieth  century.  Slavery  is 
gone.  It  died  in  a  way  that  none  of  them  expected. 
How  much  one  may  have  hindered  or  the  other 
hastened  this  end  He  only  knows  who  knows  the  end 
from  the  beginning.  May  we  not  hope  that  the 
Church  has  learned  a  lesson  that  will  make  it  harder 
for  divisions  to  ever  come  among  us  again?  If  so, 
those  trials  will  not  have  been  in  vain. 


no    AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

The  Beginnings  of  the  Revival — Separation 

I  have  already  alluded  to  the  Conservative  or 
Wilburite  separation  in  Western  Yearly  Meeting. 
Here  it  may  be  right  for  me  to  go  into  this  sub- 
ject more  fully.  All  the  later  Wilburite,  or  "Con- 
servative," separations  were  caused  by  the  breaking 
out  of  the  revival  spirit. 

Indeed,  the  "general  meetings"  were  the  fruit  of 
this  revival  work.  There  was  created  a  hungering 
for  the  Gospel.  The  membership  was  moved  by  the 
Spirit  to  seek  something  definite  in  the  way  of 
religious  experience.  As  I  have  said,  we  felt  it  in 
our  school  at  Farmers'  Institute,  where  a  number  of 
children  were  converted,  and  in  the  neighborhood 
prayer  meetings,  which  were  held  in  the  homes. 
When  we  met  socially,  we  would  often  read  a  portion 
of  Scripture  and  have  a  time  of  prayer  before 
closing.  This  went  on  quietly  from  1861  to 
1865.  Jeremiah  A.  Grinnell  was  the  human  instru- 
mentality that  God  used  to  lead  it  forward  so 
quietly  and  wisely  that  but  little  opposition  was 
ever  raised  against  it.  In  the  winter  of  1866-67,  it 
broke  out  in  Earlham  College,  when  twenty  young 
men  were  converted  in  one  term,  and  before  the  end 
of  the  year  almost  the  whole  student  body  was  swept 
into  the  movement.  A  young  man  from  Canada, 
by  the  name  of  Seabiim  Borland,  was  especially 
active  in  this  movement.  The  following  year  the 
Earlham  report  gave  the  following:  "Early  in  the 
year  the  officers  and  Christian  students  were  actively 
concerned  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  scholars. 
The  meetings  for  worship  were  attended  with  life, 
and  the  students'  prayer  meetings  gradually   in- 


THE  ERA  OF  SEPARATION 


III 


creased  in  numbers  and  interest.  Souls  became 
awakened  to  a  sense  of  their  need,  and  some  were 
converted.  The  work  went  quietly  on  throughout 
the  first  two  terms.  Early  in  the  third  term  a 
deeper  and  more  general  interest  was  awakened, 
and  continued  to  grow,  until  there  were  but  few 
who  did  not  acknowledge  the  pardoning  love  of 
Christ."  Some  of  these  students  carried  the  fire 
to  different  parts  of  the  yearly  meeting.  Especially 
at  Walnut  Ridge  was  this  manifested,  where  a 
great  revival  broke  out  and  was  followed  by  some 
extreme  excitement,  which,  to  some  degree,  marred 
the  work  at  that  place. 

After  having  been  actively  connected  for  the  last 
forty  years  with  the  educational  work  in  four  of 
the  American  yearly  meetings,  and,  in  addition  to 
that,  having  visited  nearly  all  the  Friends  colleges, 
boarding  schools  and  academies  in  the  world,  I  am 
prepared  to  say  that  I  believe  that  the  minds  and 
hearts  of  the  young  are  better  prepared  while  pur- 
suing their  education  to  receive  and  embrace  the 
truths  of  the  Gospel  than  at  any  other  period  of 
life.  Good,  healthy  study  in  our  colleges  fits  the 
mind  so  that  it  is  susceptible  to  religious  influences. 
The  personal  experience  of  those  who  have  gone 
through  college  will  demonstrate  this  fact — that 
they  feel  the  need,  while  thus  young,  of  something 
higher  and  more  spiritual.  I  believe,  if  you  select 
two  hundred  students  from  any  of  our  colleges  and 
compare  them  with  a  like  number  of  young  persons 
selected  from  any  of  our  communities  in  any  of  our 
large  meetings,  you  will  find  the  religious  experience 
and  spiritual  life  lower  among  those  taken  outside 
the  college  life.     We  hear  much  said  by  some  of  the 


112   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

danger  of  education,  but  they  forget  the  dangers 
:ound  in  ignorance.  We  mark  one  who  is  tinctured 
with  skepticism  who  comes  from  the  college,  and 
pass  by  two  or  three  skeptical  ones  who  live  in 
ignorance  in  our  own  meetings  or  neighborhood. 
Yes,  I  firmly  believe  that  an  occupied  and  trained 
mind  is  better  soil  to  receive  the  good  seed  than  the 
vacant  and  idle  mind  of  the  tmcultured  and  ignorant. 
Fox  understood  this  when  he  left  some  of  his  worldly 
possessions  to  establish  a  school,  where  the  youth 
should  be  taught  everything  "useful  in  creation." 

This  revival  spirit  was  carried  up  to  Plainfield 
in  1867,  so  that  in  nearly  every  house  along  Main 
Street,  where  Friends  boarded,  prayer  meetings 
were  held.  Some  of  us  who  were  young  then 
remember  that  in  seeking  board  for  yearly  meeting 
we  sought  those  homes  where  we  knew  there  would 
be  no  objection  to  such  meetings.  The  Conserva- 
tive Friends  were  watching  us. 

Until  the  revival  era  night  meetings  were  almost 
imknown  among  Friends.  They  never  occurred 
except  when  a  traveling  minister  was  present  and 
had  one  appointed.  But  the  liberty  and  spiritual 
life  which  Friends  always  had  in  theory,  and  in 
some  measure  in  practice,  would  not  long  submit 
to  this  rigidness.  Perhaps  we  were  too  determined 
in  declaring  that  we  would  hold  meetings  where 
and  when  we  pleased,  while  the  Conservatives  were 
just  as  determined  to  prevent  them.  The  spirit  of 
controversy  was  raised  and  indulged  in  by  both 
sides,  until  it  culminated  in  a  separation  at  Plain- 
field,  in  1877. 


Chapter  XIII 
REFLECTIONS  ON  SEPARATION 

**  Separation  is  no  cure  for  the  evils  of  Church  or 
State."  These  words,  spoken  in  Western  Yearly- 
Meeting  in  1 86 1  by  that  Christian  scholar  and  min- 
ister of  the  Gospel,  John  Hodgkin,  of  England,  are 
weighty  and  full  of  wisdom.  Had  the  members  of 
Western  Yearly  Meeting  believed  in  them  and 
acted  accordingly,  the  separation  in  that  yearly 
meeting  in  1877  would  never  have  taken  place. 

Therefore,  in  the  place  of  trying  to  give  a 
history  of  the  separations  in  Western  and  Iowa 
Yearly  Meetings,  thereby  stirring  up  bitter  feeling 
and  tearing  open  old  sores,  I  prefer  to  use  my  pen 
in  healing  them  and  hastening  the  day  when  they 
will  be  forgotten.  So  I  will  say  but  little  about 
the  separations,  but  endeavor  to  give  my  views  and 
feelings  about  them  in  general.  Although  aware 
that  I  shall  lay  myself  open  to  attacks  from  all  sides, 
yet,  upon  examination  into  this  subject,  I  am  fully 
persuaded  that  the  statement  placed  at  the  head  of 
this  section,  taken  from  a  sermon  of  John  Hodgkin's 
in  Western  Yearly  Meeting,  is  true,  and  if  Western 
Yearly  Meeting  had  listened  to  these  strong  words, 
it  would  be  in  better  shape  to-day.  Yes,  both 
factions  would  be  in  a  better  spiritual  condition  and 
many  unkind  words  would  not  have  been  spoken, 
homes  would  not  have  been  divided,  and  brothers 
and  sisters  would  not  have  been  arrayed  against 

8  (113) 


114    AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

each  other.  The  history  of  separations  proves  that 
they  are  destructive  to  the  growth  of  the  Chiirch. 
Many  illustrations  could  be  given  to  prove  this 
contention,  but  one  will  be  sufficient  to  illustrate  my 
point.  I  take  the  facts  from  a  publication  by  the 
Nantucket  Historical  Association,  Volume  I,  Bulle- 
tin No.  I,  entitled,  "Quakerism  on  Nantucket 
Island." 

Our  Society  was  established  there  about  the  year 
1700  in  a  prosperous  way  and  about  1790,  with 
5,600  inhabitants  on  the  island,  half  of  them  at- 
tended Friends  meeting,  but  in  the  year  1900  not 
a  Friend  was  left  on  the  island.  First  came  the 
Hicksite  separation,  with  all  its  bitterness,  which 
was  carried  so  far  that  some  were  disowned  because 
they  "sympathized  with  the  other  party."  Then 
later  came  the  Wilburite  separation,  in  1845,  which 
again  stirred  up  strife  and  bitter  feeling,  and,  of 
course,  each  side  claimed  to  be  the  original  Friends. 
During  the  controversy  not  much  was  said  about 
doctrine,  but  after  it  was  over,  .each  accused  the 
other  of  holding  views  which  were  not  in  accordance 
with  the  teachings  of  George  Fox.  There  may  have 
been  some  truth  on  both  sides.  Then  came  the  Otis 
separation,  which  took  place  in  Scipio,  New  York, 
when  the  Scipio  Yearly  Meeting  decided  to  publish 
the  journal  of  Joseph  Hoage  which  contained  "  some 
remarks  made  by  him  which  were  construed  deroga- 
tory to  the  temper  and  judgment  of  Job  Otis." 
The  Otis  family  wanted  to  omit  the  criticism.  This 
was  enough  for  another  separation.  James  Otis  led 
one  party  and  John  King  the  other;  so  in  1839  they 
separated.  The  spirit  of  separation,  which  had  so 
long  lived  among  Friends  on  Nantucket,  was  ready 


REFLECTIONS  ON  SEPARATION     115 

to  take  sides,  so  under  the  leadership  of  Peleg 
Mitchel,  Nantucket,  that  meeting  was  nearly  all 
carried  for  the  Otis  party,  which  continued  to 
dwindle  under  the  fault-finding  spirit  until  the  last 
one  had  gone,  and  when  I  was  there  in  1900  they 
told  me  there  was  not  one  Friend  left.  The  old 
meeting-house  where  I  preached  many  years  before 
is  now  occupied  by  the  Nantucket  Historical  Asso- 
ciation, and  there  you  can  sit  and  study  the  history 
of  Friends  when  they  held  control  of  the  island  and 
there  was  no  other  denomination  there.  Now  the 
visitor  sees  fine  church  buildings  of  other  denomina- 
tions. As  you  walk  through  the  streets,  out  over 
the  commons  and  through  the  graveyard,  you  feel 
that  these  people  died  fighting  each  other.  As  you 
pass  through  the  Wilburite  portion  of  the  graveyard 
you  see  no  stones.  The  graves  are  unmarked. 
You  feel  as  though  you  were  walking  through  a 
pasture  field.  On  the  Orthodox  and  Gumeyite  side 
you  see  names  on  the  low  stones  that  are  familiar. 
You  have  seen  the  same  names  in  New  England, 
the  Middle  States,  among  the  pine  and  red  hills  of 
the  South,  throughout  the  great  Middle  West  and 
far  away  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Then  you 
sit  down  and  wonder  if  their  descendants  have 
learned  wisdom  from  the  fathers.  Have  they 
learned  the  great  truth  that  "Separation  is  no  cure 
for  the  evils  of  Church  or  State? "  Have  they  been 
able  to  grasp  the  fact  that  you  cannot  make  people 
see  the  great  truths  of  the  Gospel  just  alike.?  The 
Saviour  presented  himself  in  His  glorious  saving 
power  to  one  in  one  way  and  to  another  in  another, 
but  was  precious  alike  to  them  all  and  they  all  alike 
precious  to  him.     These  were  some  of  the  thoughts 


ii6   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

that  came  over  me  as  I  visited  these  scenes  and  read 
of  the  past  while  sitting  in  the  old  meeting-house, 
but  as  I  listened  methought  I  could  hear  a  voice 
saying:  "My  children  have  not  learned  the  lesson. 
They  are  still  finding  fault.  They  are  still  judging. 
They  are  still  asking  if  they  may  call  down  fire  from 
heaven  to  bum  up  those  who  do  not  see  me  as  they 
do."  And  the  voice  of  the  Master  bade  me  look 
the  Church  over  from  New  England  to  California, 
from  the  Lakes  to  the  Gulf,  and  along  the  fertile 
Mississippi  Valley,  where  He  had  sent  the  rain  and 
the  sunshine,  and  behold  the  same  spirit  exists  in 
those  places. 

But  I  turn  away  from  these  dark,  sad  pictures 
and  come  to  the  present.  Now,  as  I  hold  my  pen 
and  look  around  upon  my  desk,  I  need  only  to  reach 
out  and  turn  over  the  pages  of  some  of  our  church 
periodicals  and  see  that  the  controversy  is  still  going 
on.  The  fire  of  persecution  is  still  burning.  If 
some  one  is  proclaimed  a  heretic,  there  are  those 
who  are  ready  to  throw  the  wood  on  the  fire,  and  all 
this  in  the  name  of  the  meek  and  lowly  Jesus. 
Then  comes  the  question:  "How  long  shall  these 
things  continue?"  The  answer  from  those  who 
judge  is:  "Until  everybody  believes  as  we  do.  We 
are  right.  God  has  chosen  us  to  stand  for  the  faith 
once  delivered  to  the  saints. "  Such  are  their 
actions,  though  they  do  not  dare  to  put  them  into 
words.  But  I  have  said  enough  to  give  my  views 
on  separations,  and  close  by  asking :  Has  a  separa- 
tion ever  caused  more  people  to  hear  the  Gospel.? 
Ever  enlarged  the  Church?  Ever  shown  to  the 
world  more  of  the  gentleness  and  meekness  of  Christ? 
Has  a  separation  ever  caused  the  world  to  exclaim, 


REFLECTIONS  ON  SEPARATION     117 

"Behold  how  these  Christians  love  one  another?" 
Has  it  ever  caused  those  who  held  wrong  views  to 
turn  and  hold  right  ones?  On  the  other  hand, 
some  of  us  who  have  been  connected  with  families 
in  which  husbands  and  wives,  brothers  and  sisters 
have  been  arrayed  against  each  other,  know  some- 
thing of  the  bitterness  that  it  engenders  which  lasts 
to  this  day.  Some  one  says:  "But  we  must  come 
out  and  be  separate  from  sinners. "  "  Let  him  that 
is  without  sin  cast  the  first  stone. "  During  the 
separation  in  Nantucket  a  dear  Friend  who  passed 
through  it  said  sadly:  "I  have  seen  men  of  natural 
kindness  and  tenderness  become  hard-hearted  and 
severe.  I  have  seen  justice  turned  back  and  mercy 
led  aside. "     Enough  of  this  history. 

What  was  true  on  Nantucket  Island  has  been 
more  or  less  true  in  other  places  where  these  sad 
separations  have  taken  place.  Other  reasons  might 
be  given  for  the  losses  of  Friends  in  the  island,  but 
separation  is  the  one  I  am  speaking  about  as  a 
fruitfvd  cause  not  only  in  one  place,  but  in  others  also. 

Justice  to  history  demands  that  I  record  a 
separation  in  Iowa.  This  is  one  thing  that  both 
sides  agree  on.  They  are  also  clearly  agreed  in 
saying  that  the  other  party  was  the  one  to  blame, 
and  the  yearly  meeting  minutes  of  each  party  show 
plainly  that  a  Christian  spirit  was  not  manifested 
by  the  other  side.  Each  side  also  points  out  its 
long  and  faithful  labor  to  prevent  the  disownment 
of  the  other.  They  show  that  they  were  justified 
in  the  course  they  pursued  and  that  they  have  felt 
great  peace  of  mind  for  being  faithful  to  the  law 
and  testimony.  So  I  desire  to  give  a  few  statements 
which  all  appear  to  unite  with,  leaving  others  to  tear 


ii8   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

open  the  wound  and  tell  who  was  wrong  and  who 
was  right.  I  prefer  to  let  the  Lord  settle  that.  It 
may  be  that  some  on  both  sides  will  be  surprised. 

It  appears  that  the  first  public  manifestation  of 
difference  of  opinion  occurred  at  Bear  Creek  Quar- 
terly Meeting.  It  took  place  at  the  quarterly 
meeting  held  at  Bear  Creek  in  1873,  when  the  com- 
mittee on  general  meetings  made  its  report. 
Some  were  satisfied  with  the  report,  and  others 
were  not.  Some  were  especially  dissatisfied  with 
the  "mourners'  bench"  and  the  "testimony  meet- 
ings." The  differences  which  first  became  public 
in  the  quarterly  meeting  continued  to  increase  until 
they  finally  culminated  in  a  separation  in  1877. 
If  I  were  to  follow  these  troubles,  it  would  be  a 
history  of  differences  continued  in  private  and 
public  debates.  Business  meetings  were  so  ham- 
pered that  it  was  hard  to  do  the  necessary  business. 
When  committees  were  to  be  appointed,  each  faction 
tried  to  get  a  member  from  their  side  on  the  com- 
mittee. But  I  leave  others  who  ehjoy  such  things 
to  write  the  history.  The  Conservative  Yearly 
Meeting,  in  1886,  revised  their  discipline.  In  the 
preface  are  these  words:  "To  whom  it  may  come. 
In  consequence  of  innovations  in  doctrine  and 
practice  which  have  been  introduced  into  our  meet- 
ings, or,  rather,  forced  upon  us,  we  have  deemed  it 
our  duty  to  withdraw  from  such,  and  we  organize 
our  meetings  in  order  that  we  may  hold  them  in 
accordance  with  the  ancient  usage  of  the  Society, 
and  have  adopted  the  following  discipline  for  their 
government."  On  the  other  hand,  as  I  have  said, 
the  Liberal  Yearly  Meetings  show  by  their  reports 
and  printed  minutes  that  they  visited  the  separa- 


REFLECTIONS  ON  SEPARATION     119 

tists  and  labored  with  them  under  a  deep  concern, 
but  were  not  able  to  show  them  the  error  of  their 
way.  Private  letters  from  both  sides  have  told  me 
how  deeply  they  mourn  the  separation  and  how 
they  have  wept  over  the  un-Christian  spirit  of  those 
who  went  out  from  them. 

I  turn  from  Iowa  and  simply  glance  for  a  few 
minutes  at  Western  Yearly  Meeting.  Here  the 
same  thing  was  enacted.  One  side,  in  a  spirit  of 
revival,  held  prayer  meetings  at  night  in  private 
homes  during  yearly  meeting,  the  evangelists  having 
altars  of  prayer  and  condemning  publicly  those  who 
did  not  imite  with  them,  introducing  singing  and 
forcing  those  who  did  not  believe  in  it  to  hear  or 
leave  the  house.  On  the  other  hand,  there  was 
just  as  much  stubbornness  and  opposition  mani- 
fested in  the  same  factious  spirit  against  this  move- 
ment. I  was  a  member  of  the  yearly  meeting  at 
that  time,  enjoyed  the  revival  movement  and  re- 
member how  determined  we  were  to  save  souls, 
not  thinking  of  those  we  might  injure  in  the  attempt 
or  how  we  might  cripple  the  Church  and  mar  the 
harmony  by  pressing  our  views  too  fast.  To-day 
we  would  all  rejoice  to  see  Western  Yearly  Meeting 
one  united  body,  and  I  believe  that  it  would  be  a 
stronger  and  more  healthy  body,  better  prepared 
to  carry  forward  the  Lord's  work,  if  some  of  the 
conservative  element  that  was  driven  out  was  to-day 
mingled  with  the  extreme  radical  element  that  at 
times  manifests  itself  in  various  places.  I  close 
this  article  by  quoting:  "And  now  abideth  faith, 
hope,  love,  these  three,  but  the  greatest  of  these  is 
love." 


Chapter  XIV 

HOW  NATHAN  HUNT  DELAYED  SEPARA- 
TION IN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

I  have  given  a  rather  detailed  account  of  the 
Conservative  separation  in  Iowa  in  order  that  the 
yoiing  people  and  those  of  another  generation  may 
have  some  idea  of  the  course  of  events  and  the 
manner  of  proceeding  when  there  has  been  a  division 
in  the  Church.  If  I  were  to  go  into  the  details  of 
the  one  in  Western  Yearly  Meeting  it  would  be 
similar  in  many  respects.  Some  different  opinions 
on  methods  and  practices  and  in  some  places  an 
honest  difference  on  the  explanation  of  certain 
scriptural  passages  which  grew  wider  as  they  were 
discussed,  and  in  some  instances  resulted  in  each 
party  going  to  extremes  on  the  point  they  had  taken, 
until  they  got  as  far  apart  as  possible  and  were  in 
no  condition  to  see  good  in  each  other.  How  sad 
the  picture  thus  presented  by  those  who  professed 
to  love  each  other.  I  have  purposely  avoided 
mentioning  some  of  the  bitter  expressions  and  un- 
christian acts  which  occurred  in  some  of  the  meet- 
ings where  actual  strife  took  place  in  order  to  get  in 
possession  of  the  records — holding  the  clerk's  table 
and  in  some  instances  destroying  it,  entering  into 
lawsuits  in  order  to  secure  the  property.  What  a 
commentary  upon  the  teaching  of  Him  who  said: 
"My  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world,  else  would  My 
servants  fight,"  and,  "A  new  commandment  give  I 

(120) 


SEPARATION 


131 


unto  you,  that  ye  should  love  one  another  even  as 
I  have  loved  you."  I  prefer  to  throw  the  veil  of 
charity  over  these  things  rather  than  to  drag  them 
out  into  the  light  and  renew  the  controversy.  Let 
the  wound  heal,  and  let  the  world  see  that  we  are 
one  even  as  Christ  and  the  Father  are  one.  Some- 
times when  reviewing  the  history  of  these  separa- 
tions we  are  made  to  wish  that  there  might  have 
been  a  Nathan  Hiuit  in  each  of  these  yearly  meet- 
ings who  would  have  had  the  influence  he  had  in 
North  Carolina  Yearly  Meeting,  when  the  Wilburites 
sent  a  committee  to  that  yearly  meeting.  There 
was  also  a  committee  sent  from  the  regular  yearly 
meeting,  Eli  and  Sybil  Jones  being  members  of  the 
latter.  I  remember  with  interest  the  account  they 
gave  me  of  what  happened. 

At  that  time  the  Yearly  Meeting  of  Ministers 
and  Elders  was  opened  at  Deep  River  on  Seventh- 
day,  the  yearly  meeting  proper  opening  on  Second- 
day  morning  following  at  New  Garden,  in  the  old 
meeting-house.  The  subject  was  opened  up  in  the 
Meeting  of  Ministry  and  Oversight,  and  each  side 
was  given  an  opportunity  to  speak.  The  discussion 
was  long,  lasting  until  nearly  dark  and  the  usual 
controversial  spirit  was  manifest.  When  Sybil 
Jones  arose  to  speak  a  dear  minister,  whose  name 
has  been  a  household  word  through  the  West,  put 
up  her  feet  to  keep  her  away  from  the  partition  so 
that  she  might  not  be  heard. 

In  order  to  understand  the  situation,  it  is  right 
to  say  that  Nathan  Hunt's  son,  Thomas,  was  the 
clerk  of  the  yearly  meeting  and  his  daughter, 
Asenath  Clark,  and  her  husband,  Dougan  Clark, 
had  been  on  a  religious  visit  to  New  England  and 


122   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

had  come  fully  determined  to  throw  their  influence 
in  favor  of  endorsing  the  Wilburite  body.  They  had 
seciwed  their  brother,  Thomas,  on  their  side. 
Nathan  Himt  had  a  room  in  the  New  Garden 
Boarding-School  building,  now  Founders'  Hall, 
Guilford  College,  where  he  made  his  home  during 
yearly  meeting.  The  First-day  night  before  the 
yearly  meeting  opened  he  invited  both  of  the  com- 
mittees from  New  England  to  come  to  his  room. 
When  they  had  assembled  and  were  quiet,  he  said: 
"I  want  to  hear  from  both  sides  all  about  this 
trouble,"  and  suggested  that  the  Wilburite  com- 
mittee speak  first,  giving  their  reasons  for  the  sepa- 
ration, and  that  the  other  side  keep  still  until  they 
were  done.  After  they  had  finished  and  said  they 
had  nothing  more  to  say,  he  called  for  the  other 
side  to  present  their  case.  He  kept  quiet  until  they 
were  done.  It  was  then  about  i  o'clock  in  the 
morning.  He  sat  silent  a  little  while,  then  asked 
a  few  questions  and  said,  "  Now  Friends,  I  want  you 
all  to  go  to  bed, "  and  dismissed  them  without  any 
one  getting  an  idea  what  he  thought.  He  tells  us 
himself  that  he  did  not  go  to  bed  that  night,  but 
spent  the  night  in  silence  before  the  Lord,  waiting 
to  know  His  will  as  to  what  North  Carolina  Yearly 
Meeting  should  do.  Next  morning  he  manifested 
his  usual  Christian  politeness  towards  the  different 
members  of  the  committees.  No  one  could  tell 
what  was  passing  through  his  mind.  Meeting  com- 
menced just  as  usual.  There  was  intense  interest, 
for  all  knew  that  the  question  was  to  be  settled 
whether  North  Carolina  would  remain  in  unity  with 
the  main  body  of  Friends  or  join  a  faction  of  New 
England  in  cutting  loose  from  correspondence  with 


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SEPARATION  123 

London  Yearly  Meeting  and  the  great  body  of 
Friends  in  this  country.  There  were  a  number  of 
ministers  there  from  other  yearly  meetings.  Among 
them  were  Sarah  M.  Hiatt  and  Enos  G.  Pray  from 
the  West.  Enos  G.  Pray  was  a  young  man  who  was 
coming  into  prominence  and  was  destined  in  coming 
years  to  exert  an  influence  upon  the  Church  in  many 
places  in  our  land.  Well  do  I  remember  listening 
to  his  full,  musical  voice  with  deep  emotion  in  my 
boyhood  days,  and  vivid  were  the  impressions  made 
upon  my  mind  by  his  ministry.  Little  more  than 
the  usual  time  was  given  to  the  public  worship  that 
morning.  Then  the  business  was  entered  upon  in 
the  usual  way  by  reading  the  opening  minute, 
calling  the  representatives'  names  and  reading  the 
minutes  of  the  traveling  Friends.  Then  the  clerk 
commenced  reading  the  epistles.  When  he  came  to 
New  England  he  said,  "There  are  two  epistles  on 
the  table  purporting  to  be  from  New  England  Yearly 
Meeting.  I  propose  to  read  the  one  signed  by  the 
clerk  of  the  Wilburite  Yearly  Meeting,"  calling 
his  name.  Several  of  those  who  had  been  posted 
on  that  side  united  at  once  and  the  clerk  commenced 
reading.  Nathan  Hunt,  who  up  to  that  time  had 
not  said  a  word,  then  spoke  out  in  a  loud  voice, 
saying,  "  Hold,  Friends,  there  is  a  lion  in  the  camp." 
All  eyes  were  turned  towards  him.  Placing  his 
hand  on  the  banister  and  standing  by  the  clerk,  he 
said  slowly,  "Thomas,  sit  down."  Then  followed 
a  scene  which  those  who  saw  and  heard  it  never 
forgot.  Between  eighty  and  ninety  years  of  age, 
his  voice  was  feeble  when  he  began,  but  he  gradually 
got  warmed  up  and  his  eyes  kindled  with  their  old 
fire.     His  old  eloquence  also  came  back  and  for  an 


124   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

hoiir  or  more  he  reviewed  the  controversy  between 
J.  J.  Gumey  and  John  Wilbiir  in  England  and  the 
action  of  London  and  New  England  Yearly  Meet- 
ings in  the  whole  matter,  and  closed  by  warning 
Friends  against  the  spirit  of  division.  Turning  to 
the  clerk,  he  said,  "Read  the  epistle  signed  by 
Samuel  Boyd  Tobey,  from  New  England. "  Almost 
the  whole  meeting  rose  in  a  body  and  endorsed  the 
proposition.  He  had  swept  everything  before  him. 
The  clerk  sat  silent,  but  the  assistant  clerk  took  up 
the  epistle  and  read  it  slowly  and  solemnly.  The 
delegation  from  the  Wilburite  Yearly  Meeting  rose 
and  left  the  house  and  that  evening  started  for 
home.  Thus  North  Carolina  kept  up  her  record 
of  having  no  division,  but  a  little  of  the  same  spirit 
remained  in  two  of  the  quarterly  meetings,  namely 
Eastern  and  Contentna,  which  a  few  years  ago 
began  to  manifest  more  plainly  by  finding  fault 
with  the  acts  of  the  yearly  meeting  and  refusing  to 
pay  their  money  if  any  of  it  was  for  evangelistic 
work.  In  1902,  at  the  time  of  tlie  adoption  of  the 
Uniform  Discipline,  it  was  made  an  excuse  by  those 
indulging  in  this  spirit  to  separate.  They  were 
encouraged  by  a  few  persons  outside  the  yearly 
meeting,  but  be  it  said  to  the  credit  of  North  Caro- 
lina Yearly  Meeting,  they  have  permitted  them  to 
hold  their  meetings  in  the  house  they  occupied 
before.  While  they  have  no  title  to  the  property 
it  is  far  better  to  let  them  alone,  and  if  they  find 
more  pleasure  in  meeting  separately,  let  them  enjoy 
it.  In  giving  this  account  of  how  Nathan  Hunt 
prevented  the  separation,  I  have  repeated  it  mostly 
from  memory  as  I  have  heard  it  related  by  those 
who  were  present  that  day.     At  one  time  I  was 


SEPARATION  125 

permitted  to  read  a  copy  of  a  letter  written  by 
Nathan  Hunt  himself,  giving  an  accoimt  of  the 
whole  circumstance.  I  wish  I  had  secured  a  copy 
myself,  for  it  is  an  instance  of  the  influence  Nathan 
Hunt  had  in  his  old  age  upon  the  membership  of  that 
yearly  meeting, 


Chapter  XV 

VISITS  TO  NORTH  CAROLINA  AND 
BALTIMORE  MEETINGS 

Preparations  for  the  First  Visit  to  North  Carolina 
and  Baltimore  Tearly  Meetings 

I  now  come  to  the  time  when  I  obtained  my 
sixth  minute  for-  reHgious  service — service  which 
brought  me  into  the  closest  trial  I  had  ever  entered 
into,  and  a  service  which  resulted  in  an  entire 
change  of  all  my  life  plans.  I  had  no  idea  of  the 
far-reaching  effect  upon  my  future  work  to  result  from 
obeying  this  call  that  seemed  so  clear  and  definite. 

We  were  living  on  a  small  farm,  heavily  in  debt, 
struggling  along  to  meet  our  financial  needs,  and 
here  was  a  call  to  drop  all  and  'go  away  to  spend 
four  or  five  months,  hiring  some  one  to  gather  my 
com  and  take  care  of  the  stuff,  and  in  addition  bor- 
rowing the  sum  of  $150,  paying  10  percent,  interest 
on  it,  to  meet  traveling  expenses — and  all  this  in 
the  face  of  the  fact  that  I  belonged  to  a  wealthy 
monthly  meeting.  But  I  knew  that  neither  the 
monthly  nor  quarterly  meeting  would  help.  Some 
of  our  younger  members  to-day  may  wonder  why 
the  expenses,  at  least,  were  not  provided  for  by  the 
meeting.  But  some  of  us  remember  how  fearful 
Friends  were  of  encotu-aging  anything  like  a  paid 
ministry.  The  meeting  very  fully  endorsed  my 
concern;  much  sympathy  was  expressed  and  tears 

(136) 


VISITING  MEETINGS  127 

were  shed  as  one  after  another  united  with  my  being 
Hberated  and  encouraged  to  attend  to  the  concern. 
Indeed,  one  dear  Friend  went  so  far  as  to  suggest 
that  he  thought  it  might  be  right  for  the  Friends  to 
turn  out  and  gather  my  com,  as  I  had  to  leave  before 
com  gathering  was  over ;  but  that  was  all  there  was 
in  it.  for  when  I  returned  next  spring  I  had  to 
finish  gathering  what  my  hired  man  failed  to  get  in 
before  winter  set  in.  I  have  mentioned  this,  not 
because  I  regretted  doing  it,  but  to  give  the  facts 
in  the  case  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  may  feel  that 
they  are  bearing  burdens  to-day. 

I  had  been  away,  visiting  the  meetings  and 
families  of  Plainfield  and  White  Lick  Quarterly 
Meetings  for  two  or  three  weeks,  and  on  Sixth-day, 
by  an  extra  effort,  visited  forty  families  between 
morning  and  10  o'clock  at  night,  and  then  took  the 
train  for  home,  reaching  the  station  three  miles 
from  oiu*  house  about  two  in  the  morning.  As  I 
walked  across  the  prairie,  I  settled  the  matter  in  my 
own  mind,  so  that  I  went  to  monthly  meeting  that 
day  and  obtained  a  minute  dated  Eighth  month  18, 
1866,  "to  visit  in  the  love  of  the  Gospel,  Baltimore 
and  North  Carolina  Yearly  Meetings  and  the  families 
belonging  to  them  as  the  way  might  open  for  it. 
Also  such  schools  as  might  have  been  started  within 
the  limits  of  North  Carolina  Yearly  Meeting  since 
the  war."  This  minute  was  endorsed  by  the 
quarterly  meeting  the  next  week.  A  few  days 
afterwards  I  learned  by  letter  that  my  Uncle  Thomas 
Jay,  who  lived  at  West  Branch,  Ohio,  had  obtained 
a  minute  from  his  monthly  and  quarterly  meetings 
in  almost  the  same  language  as  mine.  We  opened 
correspondence  and  decided  that  we  woiild  travel 


128   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

together  and  labor  jointly  in  the  work,  which  we  did 
to  our  mutual  satisfaction,  and  to  this  day  it  is  a 
pleasure  to  dwell  upon  those  days  of  luiited  labor. 
When  we  began  visiting  families  of  North  Carolina 
Yearly  Meeting,  in  the  limits  of  Eastern  Quarter, 
we  went  together  for  a  couple  of  days.  My  uncle 
said  to  me  one  evening,  "I  am  tired  of  sitting  and 
listening  to  thee  and  then  beginning  and  saying  the 
same  thing  over, "  and  asked  me  if  I  was  not  tired 
of  listening  to  him  and  then  when  he  got  through 
repeating  it  over  after  him.  He  thought  we  had 
better  divide  the  field,  with  which  I  fully  united,  so 
from  that  time  on  when  we  went  into  a  meeting  we 
would  ask  the  Friends  to  divide  the  families  into 
two  parts  and  give  each  one  of  us  a  guide.  We 
would  then  start  out,  one  going  to  the  right  hand 
and  the  other  to  the  left,  luitil  we  came  together 
once  more  on  the  other  side  of  the  neighborhood.  I 
never  felt  uneasy  but  that  those  who  fell  to  Uncle 
Thomas's  portion  got  as  good  or  better  than  they 
would  have  received  if  they  had  fallen  to  my 
portion. 

Here  I  wish  to  pause  and  say  a  few  words  in 
regard  to  my  Uncle  Thomas  Jay.  He  was  next  to 
my  father  in  age  (i  8 13-1890).  In  early  boyhood  he 
evinced  extraordinary  will  power,  combined  with 
remarkable  habits  of  industry  and  perseverance. 
His  morals  were  also  of  a  strong  order,  as  he  was  a 
member  of  the  Society  of  Friends  and  an  ardent 
adherent  to  their  Christian  faith.  The  elements  of 
that  deep  piety  that  marked  his  character  through 
life  were  early  implanted  in  his  mind.  In  middle 
life  he  was  called  by  the  Still  Small  Voice  to  preach 
the  Gospel.     In  1854  he  was  recorded  a  minister, 


> 
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T^E^- 


VISITING  MEETINGS  129 

and  from  that  time  until  his  last  illness  he  con- 
tinued to  proclaim  the  message  of  salvation  with  a 
zeal  and  earnestness  commensiirate  with  the  im- 
portance of  his  mission.  Thomas  Jay  was  a  man 
with  a  purpose.  He  never  sought  worldly  distinc- 
tion nor  courted  popularity.  Controlled  by  the 
dictates  of  his  conscience,  he  fearlessly  performed 
his  duty  towards  God  and  his  fellow-men  regardless 
of  criticism.  His  gift  qualified  him  to  visit  families. 
He  was  often  led  to  speak  to  states  and  conditions 
in  a  remarkable  manner.  So  when  we  learned  of 
the  similarity  of  our  concerns,  we  decided  to  go 
together.  In  this  work  we  became  closely  united. 
It  being  soon  after  the  war,  and  the  roads  bad,  we  did 
much  of  our  traveling  on  horseback  or  mule-back, 
whichever  was  the  most  convenient.  We  soon  got 
our  names  up  as  fast  riders.  We  did  not  idle  away 
much  time.  Each  had  a  guide  to  go  with  him,  and, 
although  Friends  were  scattered  and  the  roads  bad, 
yet  we  succeeded  generally  in  visiting  from  fifteen 
to  twenty  families  apiece  each  day.  In  the  case  of 
my  Uncle  Thomas,  his  communications  so  fitted  the 
conditions  of  the  families  that  his  guide  was  accused 
of  telling  about  the  individuals  beforehand.  We 
visited  all  the  families  of  Friends  in  North  Carolina 
and  Tennessee,  all  meetings  and  schools  under  the 
care  of  Friends.  I  have  said  that  we  were  closely 
united  in  Christian  fellowship,  and  when  my  uncle 
had  come  to  the  close  of  his  life  I  went  to  visit  him. 
The  night  he  died  he  had  me  called  to  his  bedside, 
and  while  struggling  for  breath  he  said,  "I  just 
want  to  say  I  am  glad  that  thee  loves  to  preach 
the  Gospel.  Be  faithful  to  the  end. "  His  close  was 
triumphant. 


I30   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 
Visit  to  Baltimore 

I  find  in  an  old  diary  I  carried  in  my  pocket  the 
following  entry,  dated  Tenth  month  5,  1866:  "This 
day  I  parted  with  my  dear  wife  and  children  and 
departed  on  my  intended  journey  to  Baltimore  and 
North  Carolina  Yearly  Meetings,  and  the  meetings 
and  families  belonging  to  them,  as  set  forth  in  my 
minute  already  given."  It  was  the  year  after  the 
war,  and  the  country  was  in  an  unsettled  condition, 
especially  in  the  South.  No  picture  of  the  past  lives 
more  vividly  in  my  mind  than  that  of  my  wife,  who, 
as  the  train  pulled  out  that  morning,  was  standing  at 
the  depot  with  our  three  children,  the  youngest  in 
her  arms  and  one  on  each  side  holding  to  her.  She 
had  eight  miles  to  drive  home  alone.  I  stayed  that 
night  with  William  B.  Johnson  and  his  wife  at 
Indianapolis.  I  quote  the  following  from  my  diary: 
"  In  thus  leaving  home  my  mind  was  brought  into  a 
close  trial  and  fervent  are  my  desires  that  the  Lord 
will  be  with  me  and  preserve  me.  '  My  dear  wife  felt 
the  parting  keenly,  yet  with  a  Christian  spirit  bade 
me  go  and  do  my  Master's  will,  and  I  believe  we  can 
acknowledge  with  thankfulness  that  we  were  enabled 
in  solemn  prayer  to  commit  each  other  into  the 
watchful  care  of  Israel's  unslimibering  shepherd.  O 
Lord,  keep  me  and  preserve  me  from  marring  Thy 
glorious  cause;  strengthen  me  to  do  Thy  will,  and 
if  consistent  therewith,  grant  that  I  may  return  to 
my  family  with  the  reward  of  peace.     Amen." 

The  next  day  I  went  to  Richmond  and  attended 
Indiana  Yearly  Meeting,  where  I  met  with  my 
parents  and  many  of  my  friends.  At  the  close  of 
the  yearly  meeting  I  went  to  Uncle  Thomas  Jay's,  at 


VISITING  MEETINGS  131 

West  Milton.  Tenth  month  12,  1866,  we  left  his 
home,  going  to  Dayton  and  there  taking  the  train 
for  Baltimore,  by  way  of  Bellefonte  that  we  might 
attend  that  meeting,  which  belonged  to  Baltimore 
Yearly  Meeting;  also  to  Curwensville,  where  we 
visited  the  meeting  and  the  families  belonging  to  it. 
We  also  attended  the  Hicksite  monthly  meeting, 
having  a  good  service  and  receiving  a  warm  and  cor- 
dial welcome.  They  insisted  on  reading  our  minutes 
and  recording  our  attendance.  We  reached  Balti- 
more Tenth  month  20th,  at  midnight.  Next  morn- 
ing the  Yearly  Meeting  of  Ministers  and  Elders 
opened.  Our  home  was  with  our  dear  friend, 
Richard  M.  Janney.  It  was  a  pleasant  home  and 
one  that  in  coming  days  was  to  be  a  resting  place 
for  me,  and  to  the  members  of  his  household  I  was 
to  become  closely  attached.  This  was  my  first 
visit  to  Baltimore  Yearly  Meeting.  It  was  an 
occasion  of  much  interest.  It  was  my  first  visit  to 
Friends  east  of  the  Allegheny  Mountains.  To  a 
yotmg  man  brought  up  in  the  West,  in  a  country 
home,  it  was  an  education  and  made  an  impression 
upon  my  mind,  having  something  to  do  with  shaping 
my  future  work.  After  years  of  close  acquaintance 
with  Baltimore  Yearly  Meeting,  I  am  of  the  opinion 
that  no  yearly  meeting  of  its  size  has  done  as  much 
to  mould  the  character  of  Quakerism  in  the  Church 
in  America  as  Baltimore.  It  was  the  first  yearly 
meeting  to  open  and  establish  another  yearly  meet- 
ing, which  it  did  when  Ohio  was  established  by  its 
authority  in  181 3.  Then  Ohio  set  up  Indiana  in 
1 82 1.  All  the  yearly  meetings  in  the  United  States 
set  up  since  that  date  have  descended  from  Indiana 
Yearly  Meeting.     The  yearly  meeting  proper  opened 


132   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

on  Tenth  month  2,  and  the  following  Friends  were 
in  attendance  from  other  yeariy  meetings:  Eli  and 
Sybil  Jones,  William  Beard,  James  E.  Bailey, 
Daniel  Hill,  Thomas  Jay,  John  B,  Elliott,  Daniel  H. 
Hutchins,  John  Bean,  Seneca  Hazard,  Samuel 
Heaton,  Jesse  Green  and  myself.  The  yearly  meet- 
ing was  a  time  of  great  favor. 

Vtstt  to  North  Carolina  Yearly  Meeting 

At  the  close  we  started  to  North  Carolina  Yearly 
Meeting,  going  by  way  of  Richmond,  Virginia, 
where  we  stopped  at  the  home  of  John  B.  Crenshaw. 
As  we  drove  through  the  city  and  out  to  his  home, 
we  saw  the  dire  effects  of  the  war.  We  were  im- 
pressed by  what  we  saw  on  every  hand.  Our  dear 
friend  and  family  were  remarkably  preserved  during 
the  conflict.  Although  their  home  stood  within 
sight  of  the  outside  batteries  erected  for  the  defense 
of  Richmond,  yet  no  injuries  came  to  them  except 
the  loss  of  some  property.  Our  dear  friend  was 
engaged  in  relieving  those  in  distress.  He  was  often 
called  upon  to  intercede  in  behalf  of  those  who  were 
conscripted  and  forced  into  the  army,  but  who  were 
entitled  to  be  exempt  on  account  of  their  religious 
belief.  Friends  who  were  consistent  members  of  the 
Society,  members  of  the  Dunkard  Church  and  Men- 
nonites  were  all  exempt.  He  told  me  that  he  never 
failed  where  he  felt  sure  that  the  parties  were  con- 
sistent members  of  the  church  to  which  they 
belonged.  In  some  instances  he  was  fearful  that  the 
parties  had  joined  in  order  to  keep  out  of  the  army. 
That  placed  him  in  a  close  place,  for  the  authorities 
threw  the  responsibility  upon  him  to  decide  whether 
the  applicants  were  really  entitled  to  their  freedom. 


VISITING  MEETINGS  133 

There  were  so  many  of  these  cases  that  they  re- 
quired much  of  his  time,  and  in  some  cases  there 
was  much  danger  connected  with  securing  their 
release.  In  one  instance,  about  which  he  told  me, 
he  had,  after  great  effort,  secured  the  release  of  two 
yotmg  Friends  who  lived  in  North  Carolina.  It  was 
late  in  the  day  and  the  battle  was  going  on,  these 
young  men  being  in  the  trenches  with  their  regiment 
around  Petersburg,  He  secured  a  carriage  and 
drove  out  to  where  the  conflict  was  raging.  It  be- 
came very  dark,  but  he  pressed  on  imtil  he  had  gone 
as  far  as  he  could  with  the  carriage.  He  stopped 
with  the  prospect  of  waiting  until  morning.  Then 
the  thought  arose,  "Suppose  these  yoimg  men 
should  be  lolled  during  the  night.  Would  I  be 
clear?"  After  weighing  the  matter,  he  felt  it  right 
to  go  ahead,  so  leaving  the  horses  and  carriage  with 
the  driver,  he  started  afoot  through  the  trenches, 
inquiring  for  their  regiment.  After  walking  several 
miles  through  a  heavy  storm,  with  the  roar  of 
artillery  around  him  and  shot  and  shell  flying  about 
him,  about  one  o'clock  in  the  morning  he  found 
them,  and,  presenting  his  orders  for  their  release  to 
the  officer  in  charge,  they  were  turned  over  to  him. 
He  started  back  with  them  and  reached  the  carriage 
about  the  time  that  the  Federal  troops  made  a 
charge  upon  the  breastworks  which  their  regiment 
was  defending  and  carried  it  with  great  slaughter, 
capturing  those  who  were  not  killed.  He  drove 
home,  arriving  safely.  He  told  me  of  other  similar 
instances.  It  was  always  interesting  to  hear  him 
tell  his  experiences  with  the  Confederate  Govern- 
ment, including  President  Jefferson  Davis  and  the 
various   members   of   the   Cabinet,    and   with   the 


134  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

generals  and  officers  in  the  army.  He  often  joined 
with  the  committees  appointed  by  North  Carohna 
Yearly  Meeting  in  going  before  Congress  and  the 
proper  legislative  authorities  to  secure  proper  laws 
upon  freedom  of  conscience  and  other  subjects  that 
Friends  were  interested  in.  He  was  at  one  time  a 
member  of  the  Legislature  of  Virginia  and  endeav- 
ored to  carry  out  the  views  of  Friends  on  all  occa- 
sions. It  was  a  rule  which  he  adopted  to  always 
rise  and  go  out  to  attend  a  little  Friends  meeting 
when  the  hour  arrived.  One  day,  while  sitting  in 
one  of  these  meetings,  the  room  above  the  Legis- 
lative Hall  (which  I  believe  was  a  courtroom)  was 
crowded  so  that  the  floor  gave  way  and  came  down 
upon  the  members  of  the  Legislature,  so  that  several 
were  killed  and  many  wounded.  His  seat  and  desk 
were  crushed  to  pieces  by  a  heavy  beam  which  fell 
across  them.  He  felt  this  escape  was  a  cause  of 
great  thankfulness.  He  also  edited  a  little  paper 
called  The  Southern  Friend,  dining  the  war,  to  keep 
up  an  interest  among  the  members  and  to  encourage 
faithfulness  among  those  who  were  shut  off  from 
association  and  communication  with  their  Northern 
friends.  It  no  doubt  did  good.  I  have  a  part  of 
one  of  the  copies  published  while  Sherman  was 
marching  through  Georgia.  While  it  would  be 
interesting  to  dwell  upon  the  services  of  John  B. 
Crenshaw  and  many  other  Friends  who  labored  so 
faithfully  during  the  war  to  uphold  the  cause  of 
truth — and  there  were  many  of  these  silent  heroes 
who  let  their  light  shine — yet  I  must  hasten  on. 

On  First-day  we  attended  meeting  in  the  city, 
held  at  the  home  of  Jane  Whitlock,  and  in  the  after- 
noon  and   evening   visited   the   work   among   the 


VISITING  MEETINGS  135 

freedmen,  under  the  care  of  Sarah  F.  Smiley  and 
her  faithful  assistants.  Then  we  went  on  to  North 
Carolina  Yearly  Meeting  by  way  of  Black  Creek  and 
Somerton.  The  former  place  was  where  the  Vir- 
ginia Half -Yearly  Meeting  was  formerly  located,  but 
it  is  now  held  here  and  at  Richmond  alternately. 
From  there  we  went  on  to  Jamestown,  North  Caro- 
lina, which  we  reached  Eleventh  month  2,  about 
midnight,  and  spent  the  remainder  of  the  night  at 
Dr.  Coffin's.  The  next  morning.  Eleventh  month  3, 
1866,  we  went  to  Deep  River  Meeting-house,  where 
the  Yearly  Meeting  of  Ministers  and  Elders  opened. 
It  was  a  time  of  deep  religious  feeling.  Much  sym- 
pathy was  felt  and  expressed  with  our  dear  Friends 
in  their  present  situation,  and  they  were  encouraged 
to  be  faithful  in  the  discharge  of  their  duties.  It 
was  believed  by  those  who  spoke  that  there  never 
was  a  time  when  the  fields  were  more  fully  open  for 
our  beloved  Society  to  labor  in  North  Carolina. 
We  went  home  that  night  with  Jonathan  Harris, 
and  in  the  evening  walked  over  to  Daniel  Barker's 
and  had  a  religious  opportiuiity  with  his  interesting 
family. 

"Eleventh  month  4.  This  was  First-day,  and 
we  went  to  the  old  New  Garden  Meeting-house, 
where  the  yearly  meeting  has  been  held  for  many 
years.  The  meetings  were  large,  both  in  the  morn- 
ing and  in  the  afternoon.  The  visitors  boarded  in 
the  school  building,  and  at  night  we  had  a  chapter 
read  in  one  of  the  schoolrooms  and  another  good 
meeting  was  held,  there  being  many  young  people 
present  at  these  meetings.  Eleventh  month  5, 
1866.  The  yearly  meeting  proper  opened  this 
morning  with   Nereus  Mendenhall   as  clerk.     The 


136   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

following  Friends  were  in  attendance  from  other 
yearly  meetings:  Eli  and  Sybil  Jones,  William 
Beard,  Pharaba  Toms,  Miriam  Huff,  James  E. 
Bailey,  Seneca  Hazard,  John  B.  Elliot,  Daniel  D. 
Barton,  Alson  R.  Walls,  Peter  Osbom,  Thomas  Jay 
and  myself, "  all  of  whom  have  passed  to  the  Beyond 
except  the  author.  The  yearly  meeting  continued 
until  Sixth-day  afternoon.  ' '  In  reviewing  this  yearly 
meeting,  I  think  it  may  be  truly  said  that  it  was  a 
time  of  real  favor  and  that  the  business  was  con- 
ducted in  unity  and  much  love,  some  of  the  sessions 
being  especially  blessed.  The  one  on  the  State  of 
Society  was  a  time  of  searching  of  hearts;  the  one 
when  the  Meeting  for  Sufferings  reported  the  suffer- 
ings of  Friends  during  the  war  and  their  faithfulness 
brought  feelings  of  praise  to  God  for  the  evidence  of 
His  protecting  care.  Many  instances  of  his  loving 
care  were  brought  to  remembrance.  Through  it  all. 
Friends  who  have  been  faithful  have  been  kept  and 
their  lives  have  been  spared.  The  evening  meetings 
in  the  schoolroom  were  seasons,  of  real  spiritual 
awakening  to  many  of  the  dear  young  people, 
several  of  whom  have  given  their  lives  to  God  for 
His  use,  and  I  believe,  if  they  are  faithful,  will  be 
useful  members  of  the  Church."  These  words, 
written  at  the  close  of  the  yearly  meeting  forty-two 
years  ago,  I  have  lived  to  see  more  than  realized. 
The  years  of  my  connection  with  North  Carolina 
Yearly  Meeting  have  been  among  the  best  of  my 
life,  and  my  prayer  that  day  has  been  answered  far 
beyond  my  fondest  hope.  My  heart  was  knit  to 
that  people  at  the  closing  session  as  to  no  people 
before.  Little  did  I  know  how  closely  we  were  to 
labor  together  for  nine  years  in  building  up  the 


VISITING  MEETINGS  137 

waste  places  and  making  North  Carolina  Yearly- 
Meeting,  then  having  about  2,200  members,  a  light 
in  that  Southland  and  a  bright  example  among  the 
sisterhood  of  yearly  meetings  with  nearly  7,000 
members,  and  that  New  Garden  Boarding-School 
was  to  become  Guilford  College  and  take  its  place 
among  the  colleges  of  the  South  and  stand  in  the 
foremost  ranks  of  the  Quaker  colleges  of  our  land. 
As  I  pen  these  lines,  I  thank  my  Heavenly  Father 
that  he  has  permitted  me  to  have  a  little  part  in 
helping  to  answer  these  prayers  of  forty-two  years 
ago,  uttered  in  old  New  Garden  Meeting-house,  and 
for  the  fact  that  my  life  is  richer  and  fuller  because 
I  have  worked  and  labored  in  harmony  with  those 
men  and  women  who  composed  North  Carolina 
Yearly  Meeting  that  day,  also  for  the  brightness 
and  happiness  that  have  come  into  my  Christian  life, 
as  I  have  known  and  mingled  with  their  children 
who  are  now  leading  North  Carolina  Yearly  Meeting 
into  new  and  wider  fields  of  usefulness.  "What 
hath  God  wrought!"  It  is  marvelous  in  our  eyes. 
Praise  be  unto  His  name. 

The  Peace  Conference  tn  Baltimore 

At  the  close  of  the  yearly  meeting  my  uncle, 
Thomas  Jay,  went  to  Rich  Square,  in  the  limits  of 
Eastern  Quarter,  to  continue  the  work  which  we  had 
begun,  while  I  turned  aside  for  a  little  time  to  attend 
a  conference  held  in  Baltimore  on  the  subject  of 
Peace.  This  conference  was  composed  of  delegates 
from  the  different  yearly  meetings  and  began 
Eleventh  month  14,  1866,  at  the  invitation  of  Balti- 
more Yearly  Meeting.  It  resulted  in  the  organiza- 
tion afterwards  of  the  Peace  Association  of  Frientis 


138   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

of  America,  which  has  been  kept  up  ever  since  and 
is  now  located  in  Richmond,  Indiana.  My  memory- 
is  that  the  subject  was  first  mentioned  in  Ohio 
Yeariy  Meeting  by  Jesse  Green,  one  of  its  members, 
which  resulted  in  that  yearly  meeting  calling  the 
attention  of  the  other  yearly  meetings  to  the  matter. 
In  their  epistles  to  the  American  yearly  meetings, 
Baltimore  went  so  far  as  to  propose  that  each  yearly 
meeting  appoint  delegates  to  such  a  conference,  to 
meet  in  that  city  on  Fourth-day  following  North 
Carolina  Yearly  Meeting.  Having  been  appointed 
by  Western  Yearly  Meeting,  I  returned  to  Balti- 
more from  New  Garden,  in  company  with  Dr. 
William  Nicholson,  and  attended  the  meeting  in 
Baltimore  and  one  at  Deer  Creek  in  Maryland,  and 
was  present  at  the  opening  of  the  peace  conference 
in  the  old  Friends  meeting-house.  The  following 
delegates  were  present :  From  New  England,  Samuel 
Boyce,  John  Page,  William  C.  Tabor,  Joseph  Cart- 
land;  from  New  York,  Jonathan  DeVol,  William 
H.  Case,  Benjamin  Tatham,  Robert  Lindley  Murray, 
Samuel  Heaton  and  Jesse  P.  Haines;  from  Balti- 
more, Francis  T.  King,  James  Carey,  Dr.  James  C. 
Thomas,  John  Scott,  John  B.  Crenshaw,  Richard  M. 
Janney  and  Jesse  Tyson;  Ohio,  John  Butler,  Jesse 
Green,  William  H.  Ladd,  Ezra  Catell ;  from  Indiana, 
Charles  F.  Coffin,  Levi  Jessup,  Francis  W.  Thomas, 
Isaac  P.  Evans,  Daniel  Hill  and  Murray  Shipley; 
Western,  Nathan  Elliot,  Dr.  James  Kersey,  Barna- 
bas C.  Hobbs,  Dr.  Dougan  Clark  and  Allen  Jay; 
North  Carolina,  Isham  Cox,  John  Parker,  Seth 
Barker,  Allan  U.  Tomlinson  and  Dr.  William  Nichol- 
son; Iowa,  Joseph  D.  Hoage,  Jeremiah  A.  Grinnell 
and  James  Owen.     In  addition  to  these,  there  were 


VISITING  MEETINGS  139 

from  Philadelphia,  John  M.  Whitall,  George  W. 
Taylor  and  Samuel  Rhodes.  All  of  these  were 
present,  except  five,  and  all  of  the  forty-three  have 
passed  away  except  Charles  F.  Coffin  and  myself. 
After  a  season  of  worship,  during  which  vocal  prayer 
was  offered,  the  conference  was  organized  by  ap- 
pointing Francis  T.  King  clerk,  and  Dr.  Dougan 
Clark,  assistant.  The  first  subject  under  consider- 
ation was  our  duty  towards  our  own  members,  which 
occupied  the  first  sitting.  We  then  adjourned  until 
3.30  o'clock.  At  this  session  a  committee  was 
appointed  to  draft  an  address  to  our  own  member- 
ship for  the  purpose  of  stirring  them  up  to  more 
faithfulness  in  maintaining  our  well-known  views 
on  this  important  doctrine.  We  met  again  at  9 
o'clock  next  morning,  and,  after  a  long  and  full 
discussion,  a  large  committee  was  appointed  to 
draft  an  address  to  the  professors  of  religion  of  all 
denominations.  Another  session  was  held  at  3.30 
that  afternoon,  at  which  a  discussion  took  place  on 
the  question  of  how  far  we  could  seek  the  co-opera- 
tion of  other  religious  denominations.  It  was  finally 
decided  to  ask  them  to  labor  in  their  own  appropriate 
channels  for  the  advancement  of  the  cause.  At  the 
meeting  the  next  day  the  address  to  our  member- 
ship was  adopted,  and  the  address  to  the  other 
religious  denominations  was  left  in  the  hands  of  a 
judicious  committee  to  be  prepared  and  presented 
at  a  future  meeting  to  be  held  some  time  the  fol- 
lowing year.  The  conference  also  recommended 
to  the  different  yearly  meetings  to  appoint  standing 
committees  on  the  subject  of  Peace,  who  should 
labor  in  subordinate  meetings  and  among  individ- 
duals,  and  hold  meetings  and  give  lectures  among 


I40  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

Friends  and  others.  After  some  minor  matters 
were  attended  to,  the  first  peace  conference  ad- 
journed, to  meet  at  the  call  of  a  special  committee 
the  next  year.  Dr.  Nicholson  and  I  took  the  boat 
that  night  for  Norfolk  and  were  met  at  Suffolk  the 
next  morning  and  driven  to  Belvidere,  which  we 
reached  the  following  evening,  and  where  I  again 
met  with  my  dear  uncle. 


Chapter  XVI 

VISITING  FRIENDS  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA 
AND  TENNESSEE 

Again  we  began  the  work  of  visiting  meetings, 
families  and  schools  as  we  came  to  them.  Our 
course  was  towards  western  North  Carolina,  and 
from  there  across  the  mountains  into  Tennessee, 
the  work  to  be  finished  in  that  State.  In  taking 
this  course  we  were  following  in  the  tracks  of 
Johnston's  and  Sherman's  armies,  from  Goldsboro 
to  Greensboro,  the  former  retreating  and  the  latter 
pursuing  him.  We  had  a  good  opportunity  to  see 
the  devastating  effect  of  war.  It  was  in  a  Friends 
neighborhood  that  the  last  battle  between  Johnston 
and  Sherman  was  fought,  near  Bentonsville,  North 
Carolina.  Our  dear  friend  William  Cox's  house  was 
situated  in  the  midst  of  the  conflict.  The  effect  of 
the  bullets  upon  the  house  was  plainly  to  be  seen. 
None  of  the  family  was  hurt,  as  they  quietly 
remained  inside.  But  it  is  not  my  purpose  to  dwell 
upon  the  subject  of  the  war  or  the  sufferings  of 
Friends,  for  that  has  been  told  by  others.  Mine  is 
to  tell  of  what  we  found  and  what  we  tried  to  do. 
I  could  fill  volumes  in  relating  the  stories  told  us  as 
we  went  into  the  homes.  Many  nights  after  a  hard 
day's  work  we  would  listen  imtil  a  late  hour  to  these 
facts  which  at  that  time  were  fresh  in  the  minds  of 
all,  and  the  evidence  of  their  truth  was  to  be  seen 

(141) 


142   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

on  every  hand.  One  dear  Friend,  near  Goldsboro, 
told  how  Johnston's  men  first,  and  then  Sherman's 
following,  took  their  horses  and  cattle,  cleared 
up  their  chickens,  indeed  did  not  leave  anything 
alive  on  the  farm,  besides  the  members  of  the  family, 
except  a  setting  hen  which  was  hidden  under  the 
bam.  The  soldiers  would  take  the  sheets  and  the 
linen  bedclothes;  would  rip  open  one  end  of  a  bed- 
tick,  take  hold  of  the  other  and  run  down  stairs 
through  the  house  and  into  the  yard,  scattering  the 
feathers  everywhere  in  a  spirit  of  wanton  destruc- 
tion. Everything  that  could  be  eaten  was  destroyed 
or  carried  away.  Several  years  after  this,  sitting 
by  the  bedside  of  a  dying  soldier  in  Indiana,  he 
brought  up  this  circumstance  and  what  happened 
in  this  home,  and  the  part  that  he  took  in  it.  He 
spoke  of  the  Christian  spirit  manifested  by  those 
dear  Friends,  of  the  father,  the  mother,  the  three 
children,  and  then  added,  "Oh,  I  wish  I  could  see 
them  and  ask  their  forgiveness  for  the  part  I  took 
in  destroying  their  home!"  When  I  told  him  I 
knew  them  well  and  had  often  partaken  of  their 
hospitality,  that  they  were  prospering,  and  that  the 
children  had  grown  up  lovely  Christians,  he  begged 
that  I  would  bear  his  dying  request  that  they  would 
forgive  him,  and  his  prajer  that  they  might  meet 
in  Heaven.  All  of  this  I  have  carefully  done.  But, 
as  I  have  said,  I  leave  these  unpleasant  things  and 
pass  on  to  our  mission.  It  was  ours  to  go  from 
house  to  house  and  bear  the  message  of  love  and 
encouragement  to  those  noble  men  and  women  who 
had  silently  and  faithfully  borne  their  testimony  to 
the  cause  of  peace.  One  thing  impressed  me  day 
after  day,  in  going  from  one  home  to  another  and 


VISITING  FRIENDS  143 

from  one  meeting  to  another — that  I  was  in  the 
midst  of  a  people  who,  without  noise  or  any  great 
flourish  of  trumpets,  had  fought  and  won  a  silent 
yet  glorious  victory,  for  "they  endured  as  seeing 
Him  who  is  invisible,"  and  as  we  listened   to  the 
pitiful  stories  of  their  trials,  privations  and  persecu- 
tions, we  felt  that  we  were  among  a  people  who 
believed  in  God,  a  people  who  had  walked  through 
the  fiery  furnace  unconscious  that  "One  like  unto 
the  Son  of  Man  was  with  them. "     They  had  come 
out  "  without  the  smell  of  fire  upon  their  garments." 
We  listened  to  the  mothers  and  sisters  telling  of 
plowing  and  carrying  on  the  work  of  the  farm,  while 
the  husbands,  fathers  and  sons  were  hidden  in  the 
woods  and  caves  that  they  might  keep  out  of  the 
army,  or  had  passed  through  the  lines  to  the  North 
in  order  that  they  might  not  be  forced  to  fight.     I 
remember  young  men  telling  how  hard  it  was  for 
them,  from  their  hiding-places  on  the   mountains, 
to  see  their  mothers  toiling  in  the  fields  for  their 
support.     In  one  instance,  one  of  these  young  men 
went  home,  dressed  in  his  mother's  clothes  and  took 
her  place  in  the  field  for  three  days  while  she  rested. 
Women  would  suffer  severe  punishment  rather  than 
tell  where  their  loved  ones  were  hiding.     Day  after 
day  we  would  listen  to  these   simple  narratives, 
often  told  because  we  drew  them  out  by  questions, 
not  because  they  thought  they  had  done  any  great 
thing.     They  appeared  little  to  realize  that  they 
had  been  making  history  that  would  place  them  in 
the  list  of  God's  heroes;  that  they  were  sowing  the 
seed  that  would  build  up  his  kingdom  on  earth  again. 
While  others  had  closed  their  places  of  worship  in 
the  country,  they  had  kept  up  their  meetings  for 


144   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

worship  on  First-day  and  in  the  middle  of  the  week — 
meetings  held  often  in  silence,  yet  always  a  bright 
example  of  their  devotion  to  their  profession  and 
duty  to  God.  They  had  heard  the  voice  of  God  and 
were  faithful  to  His  will;  men  and  women  who 
knew  more  of  God  than  some  whom  I  have  since  met 
who  make  a  much  louder  profession,  talk  more  about 
doctrine,  and  dwell  much  upon  orthodoxy  and 
religious  belief.  Here  were  those  who  heard  His 
voic'e  and  followed  as  He  led  the  way,  and  were 
"kept  in  perfect  peace"  because  their  minds  were 
"stayed  upon  Him."  So  we  continued  our  work, 
making  use  of  the  time.  When  we  reached  Spring- 
field Meeting,  located  near  what  was  called  Bush 
Hill,  now  Archdale,  North  Carolina,  we  found  Joseph 
Moore,  who  was  at  that  time  superintendent  of  the 
Baltimore  Association  work.  This  was  an  organiza- 
tion formed  in  Baltimore  at  the  close  of  the  war 
called  "The  Baltimore  Association  of  Friends,  to 
Advise  and  Assist  Friends  in  the  Southern  States." 
Richard  M.  Janney,  John  Scott  and  Sarah  F. 
Smiley  were  sent  down  at  first  by  this  association 
to  help  relieve  the  immediate  need,  but  the  work 
was  afterwards  put  imder  the  entire  control  of 
Joseph  Moore.  We  were  glad  to  meet  him  and 
strengthen  his  hands  in  the  good  work,  but  it  is  my 
purpose  to  speak  more  of  this  in  a  short  time  when, 
in  the  providence  of  God,  I  came  to  take  the  place 
he  then  occupied.  We  passed  on  westward,  visiting 
the  meetings  up  among  the  moimtains  in  western 
North  Carolina,  then  crossed  over  into  eastern 
Tennessee,  going  to  New  Hope  Meeting  first,  then 
down  to  Lost  Creek,  across  the  Holston  River  to 
Maryville  and  so  on  to  Friendsville,  where  William 


VISITING  FRIENDS  145 

Forster,  of  England,  who  was  buried  in  the  grave- 
yard here  in  1854,  laid  down  his  life  while  engaged 
as  a  member  of  a  delegation  appointed  by  London 
Yearly  Meeting  to  present  a  communication  on  the 
subject  of  slavery,  addressed  by  that  yearly  meeting, 
to  the  President  of  the  United  States  and  to  the 
Governor  of  each  State.  After  reaching  Friends- 
ville  I  learned  of  a  settlement  some  four  or  five  miles 
distant  where  there  had  once  been  a  Friends 
meeting,  but  which  had  gone  down.  The  last 
meeting  held  in  the  old  meeting-house,  the  roof  of 
which  had  now  fallen  in,  had  been  held  by  William 
Forster  some  thirteen  years  before.  There  were 
some  ten  or  twelve  members  scattered  among  the 
hills,  often  only  one  in  a  family.  So,  First  month  1 5 , 
1867,  on  horseback,  with  a  Friend  on  another  horse 
for  a  guide,  we  started  soon  after  daylight,  rode  over 
twenty  miles  during  the  day  and  visited  ten  homes. 
Soon  after  beginning,  the  word  got  circulated  in  the 
woods  that  a  preacher  was  holding  meetings  in  the 
homes  where  there  was  a  Friend.  After  that  we  had 
a  company  in  each  house  when  we  reached  there. 
While  eating  dinner  at  John  B.  Jones's,  I  felt  it 
right  to  appoint  a  meeting  that  night  for  the  people 
in  that  community.  He  freely  offered  his  house, 
a  two-roomed  one,  with  a  door  between.  His  wife, 
though  a  Presbyterian,  very  cordially  joined  with 
him  in  granting  the  home.  When  we  reached  there 
at  meeting  time,  both  rooms  were  full,  people  stand- 
ing and  sitting  on  the  floor.  I  took  my  position  in 
the  door  between  the  two  rooms  and  for  an  hour  or 
more  was  engaged  in  exposition  and  prayer.  Soon 
after  this  a  new  meeting-house  was  built  and  a 
meeting  established,  and  in  a  short  time  a  monthly 

10 


146   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

meeting  was  opened,  called  Hickory  Valley.  I  be- 
lieve that  day's  work  was  owned  and  blessed  by  the 
Lord.  After  the  meeting,  I  rode  two  miles  to 
Joseph  Bales's,  a  Friend  who  had  long  been  confined 
to  the  house,  and  did  what  I  could  to  encourage  him 
and  his  family  before  leaving  them.  The  next  day 
I  visited  families  and  reached  Francis  Hackney's 
in  the  evening,  where  I  found  my  uncle  and  our  dear 
friends,  Joseph  Moore  and  Isham  Cox.  We  all  went 
to  meeting  First-day  and  had  a  large,  and  favored 
meeting.  I  visited  families  that  afternoon,  and  on 
First  month  17,  awoke  very  early  and  felt  clearly 
the  command  to  return  home,  which  was  a  joyful 
message.  When  Uncle  awoke,  in  a  few  minutes  he 
said,  "Allen,  I  am  ready  to  go  home. "  We  started 
that  day,  and  I  was  favored  to  reach  my  home  on 
the  afternoon  of  the  19th,  when  the  wisdom  of 
returning  was  made  plain.  I  found  our  little  boy, 
fifteen  months  old,  very  sick.  We  were  tmited  in 
returning  thanks  to  our  Heavenly  Father  for  His 
watchful  care  over  us  and  our  loved  ones  during  our 
separation  of  one  hundred  and  seven  days.  Thus 
ended  my  first  visit  to  North  Carolina  Yearly  Meet- 
ing, which  was  soon  to  become  the  field  of  several 
years'  work. 


Chapter  XVII 

THE    CALL    TO    THE     WORK    OF    THE 
BALTIMORE  ASSOCIATION 

I  now  settled  down  to  farm  life,  which  was  min- 
gled with  a  few  visits  of  a  religious  character  of  more 
or  less  importance.  The  next  winter  I  obtained  a 
minute  to  visit  families  of  those  within  the  limits  of 
our  meeting  and  surrounding  neighborhood  who  were 
not  Friends,  and  held  some  meetings  among  them. 
Early  in  1868,  in  company  with  my  dear  wife,  I  vis- 
ited the  meetings  of  Indiana  Yearly  Meeting,  located 
within  the  States  of  Ohio  and  Indiana.  Returning 
from  this  service,  the  summer  was  occupied  in  rais- 
ing a  crop.  One  day,  after  harv-est,  while  finishing 
"laying  by"  some  late  com,  my  wife  came  to  the 
field,  saying,  "Here  is  a  letter  from  Baltimore."  I 
asked  her  to  read  it  while  I  sat  on  the  plow  to  rest. 
It  was  from  Francis  T.  King  and  began  by  saying, 
"  We  have  just  had  a  meeting  of  the  Baltimore  Asso- 
ciation of  Friends  to  Assist  and  Advise  Friends  of 
the  Southern  States,  and  at  the  earnest  request  of 
many  Friends  in  North  Carolina,  we  are  united  in 
appointing  thee  our  superintendent,  to  take  the  place 
of  Joseph  Moore,  who  has  resigned  in  order  to  return 
to  his  place  as  president  of  Earlham  College."  He 
then  went  on  to  tell  how  much  they  would  pay  and 
what  they  would  provide  for  myself  and  family  if 
we  would  come  for  one  year,  and  closed  by  saying, 
"  We  want  an  answer  by  return  mail. ' '     The  proposi- 

(147) 


148   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

tion  was  entirely  unexpected.  We  sat  in  silence  a 
few  minutes.  I  then  rose  and,  turning  my  horses 
round,  proceeded  to  finish  my  plowing,  then  went  to 
the  bam  and  occupied  the  rest  of  the  day  in  putting 
away  my  farming  utensils  where  they  belonged. 
That  evening  we  did  not  mention  the  subject,  neither 
the  next  day.  It  being  First-day,  we  went  to  school 
and  meeting,  spent  the  afternoon  with  my  wife's  par- 
ents, and  upon  retiuning  home  that  evening  the  same 
silence  was  maintained  on  that  subject,  each  waiting 
for  the  other  to  work  it  out.  On  Second-day  morn- 
ing, after  breakfast,  I  remarked,  "  I  must  now  answer 
F.  T.  King's  letter.  What  shall  I  say.?"  My  wife 
simply  replied,  "  I  expect  we  will  go, "  and  went  out 
to  wash  the  dishes.  I  went  to  the  desk  and  wrote  an 
answer,  saying  we  would  accept  if  they  should  fur- 
nish a  cow  in  addition  to  what  they  had  already 
promised.  In  a  few  days  I  had  an  answer  saying, 
"We  accept  thy  proposition.  Thou  art  our  man. 
Go  to  Iowa  Yearly  Meeting  and  secure  all  the  funds 
thou  canst  for  the  work.  I  have  written  to  the 
Friends  there  to  give  thee  an  opportunity  during  the 
yearly  meeting."  In  two  days  I  reached  there,  a 
stranger  and  very  much  depressed  with  the  thought 
of  making  a  public  appeal,  which  was  not  made 
lighter  by  the  fact  that  I  could  see  that  they  did  not 
want  the  appeal  to  be  made.  The  yearly  meeting 
was  new,  it  being  the  third  one  that  they  had  held. 
The  country  was  new  and  they  had  not  yet  paid  for 
their  house.  They  told  me  plainly  that  they  felt 
they  had  their  hands  full,  but  as  Francis  T.  King 
had  helped  them  financially  in  their  educational 
work,  perhaps  it  would  be  best  to  grant  me  a  little 
time.     So  one  evening  I  was  informed  that  I  might 


CALL  TO  BALTIMORE  ASSOCIATION  149 

have  fifteen    minutes    the    next   morning.     I  was 
frightened  and  laid  awake  the  most  of  the  night  to 
prepare  a  fifteen-minute  talk.     It  doesn't  take  much 
thought  to  talk  an  hour,  but  to  say  something. in 
fifteen   minutes   requires   much   preparation.     The 
hour  came.     The  house  was  full.     There  sat  before 
me  men  who  had  fathers  and  mothers,  brothers  and 
sisters  and  dear  relatives  in  the  old  North  State  and 
in  Tennessee,  who  had  gone  through  the  horrors  of 
war,  whom  they  did  not  hear  from  for  four  long 
years,  and  I  had  been  in  their  homes  and  heard  of 
their  sufferings.     I  was  full  of  these  tales  of  sorrow. 
Joel  Bean,  who  was  clerk,  like  a  Christian  gentleman 
as  he  has  always    been,   politely  introduced    the 
subject  and  said  that  they  were  very  busy,  but 
thought  best  to  give  me  fifteen  minutes.     I  rose 
trembling  all  over  and  so  frightened  that  I  did  not 
remember  anything  that  I  had  made  up  to  say,  but 
plunged  into  the  subject  and  did  not  stop  for  nearly 
an  hour.     When  I  sat  down  there  was  weeping  all 
over  the  house,     James  Owen  rose  at  once  and  pro- 
posed that  I  should  go  upstairs  and  lay  the  matter 
before  the  women's  meeting.     A  messenger  came 
back  soon,  saying  that  they  would  give  me  a  few 
minutes ;  so  with  an  escort  I  went  up,  was  introduced 
by  the  clerk,  Hannah  Bean,  with  the  reminder  that 
time  was  precious.     When  the  few  minutes  were  out 
many  were  wiping  their  eyes;  so  I  spoke  forty-five 
minutes,  and  then  they  entered  into  a  collection, 
and  when  I  went  downstairs  I   had  four  himdred 
dollars  in  my  hat.     They  reported  that  they  had 
raised  one  thousand  dollars  among  the  men  while 
I  was  upstairs.     I  slept  well  that  night.     That  was 
the  beginning  of  my  public  solicitations  in  raising 


ISO  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

money,  but  it  has  not  been  my  last.  At  the  close  of 
the  yearly  meeting  I  returned  home  and  in  three 
weeks  we  were  on  our  way,  moving  to  North  Carolina. 
We  had  left  our  farm  and  everything  on  it  under  the 
care  of  a  man  and  his  wife,  expecting  to  return  in  one 
year,  but  we  have  never  done  so.  God  has  led,  I 
believe,  in  another  way.  After  we  had  been  in  the 
South  two  years  my  parents  came  down  to  see  us 
and  to  attend  the  yearly  meeting.  My  father  went 
with  me  for  a  few  weeks,  seeing  the  work.  He  then 
said,  "  We  would  be  glad  to  have  you  back  in  Indiana, 
but  thee  is  engaged  in  a  work  here  that  thee  must 
not  leave.  Better  let  me  go  home  and  make  a  sale 
and  close  up  thy  affairs  in  Indiana,  "  Next  morning 
we  had  an  offer  for  the  farm  which  was  better  than 
we  expected.  We  made  the  deed  and  father  wound 
up  the  affairs  at  the  old  home. 

When  we  reached  North  Carolina,  the  house  we 
were  going  to  move  into  was  being  repaired.  It  was 
located  on  a  lot  joining  old  Springfield  Meeting- 
house. There  was  a  good  sized  school-house  on  the 
meeting-house  grounds,  and  we  had  taken  a  teacher 
with  us  from  Indiana,  Deborah  Steere,  who  was  a 
graduate  of  Earlham  College  and  one  of  the  best 
teachers  I  ever  knew.  She  remained  with  us  for 
three  years,  living  in  our  home,  and  then,  after  a 
year's  rest,  I  arranged  for  her  to  take  charge  of  the 
school  at  Friendsville,  Tenr^essee,  which  was  a  school 
of  some  note.  It  had  been  assisted  by  English 
Friends  in  building  and  getting  started.  Deborah 
Steere  is  now  the  wife  of  Samuel  Howell,  ocated  at 
Selma,  Ohio.  She  was  assisted  at  Friendsville  by 
William  Clark,  the  present  editor  of  St.  Nicholas,  in 
New  York. 


CALLTO  BALTIMORE  ASSOCIATION  151 

We  went  to  the  home  of  Allen  U.  Tomlinson, 
where  we  remained  until  our  house  was  ready.  This 
man  deserves  more  than  a  passing  notice.  He  sat  at 
the  head  of  Springfield  Meeting,  lived  at  Bush  Hill, 
now  called  Archdale,  had  a  tanyard,  a  shoe  shop,  a 
harness  shop  and  a  store.  He  was  an  enterprising 
man  in  business,  educational  work  and  church  work. 
Two  of  his  sons  have  graduated  at  Haverford  Col- 
lege and  were  teachers  of  ability,  being  employed  by 
our  association.  Another  was  a  practicing  physi- 
cian. Allen  U.  Tomlinson  had  been  superintendent 
of  the  First-day  school  for  forty  years.  In  connec- 
tion with  Nathan  Hunt,  Mahlon  Hockett  and  other 
worthy  Friends,  he  had  made  Springfield  Meeting 
one  of  the  leading  meetings  in  the  yearly  meeting. 
He  was  interested  in  the  success  of  New  Garden 
Boarding-School  and  educational  work  generally, 
and  was  a  member  of  the  committee  appointed  by 
North  Carolina  Yearly  Meeting  to  counsel  and  advise 
with  the  Baltimore  Association  in  their  work.  Just 
before  the  surrender  of  Johnston  at  Greensboro,  one 
corps  of  his  army  was  located  at  Bush  Hill.  The 
leading  generals  had  their  headquarters  in  his  home. 
At  night  they  placed  a  guard  around  the  house  and 
bolted  all  the  doors.  He  objected  to  the  guard  and 
unbolted  the  doors.  It  appeared  later  that  the 
wives  of  the  generals  were  afraid  of  their  own  soldiers, 
as  they  were  poorly  fed  and  clothed  and  had  received 
but  little  pay  and  felt  that  their  cause  was  lost.  But 
the  Friends  were  preserved  and  went  on  with  their 
duties.  They  held  their  quarterly  meeting  as  usual, 
while  the  army  lay  around  the  meeting-house  not 
knowing  how  soon  they  might  hear  the  roar  of  the 
cannon  opening  another  bloody  battle.     But  the 


152   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

next  day  they  learned  that  Johnston  and  Sherman 
had  tried  to  negotiate  the  terms  of  a  surrender,  which 
was  soon  accompHshed,  and  the  poor,  weary  Con- 
federate soldiers  received  their  small  pay,  laid  down 
their  arms  and  returned  to  their  sad  and,  in  many 
cases,  destitute  homes.  It  was  a  happy  day  for  our 
Friends  in  the  South. 

Now,  having  told  of  our  call  and  location  in  the 
South,  I  ptu-pose  to  give  some  account  of  the 
organization  of  "The  Baltimore  Association  of 
Friends  to  Assist  and  Advise  the  Friends  in  the 
Southern  States. ' '  But  before  doing  so,  I  wish  to 
introduce  a  chapter  written  by  my  dear  friend,  Mary 
Mendenhall  Hobbs,  at  my  request,  as  an  introduc- 
tion, showing  the  need  for  such  work  and  the  wisdom 
required  in  carrying  it  forward.  This  chapter  has 
been  written  by  one  who  went  through  these  dark 
days,  a  daughter  of  Dr.  Nereus  Mendenhall,  a  lead- 
ing Friend  in  North  Carolina  Yearly  Meeting,  one 
who  remained  in  the  yearly  meeting  from  a  sense  of 
duty  and  whose  labor  was  abundantly  blessed  to  indi- 
viduals and  to  the  Church.  She  has  told  the  story 
as  few  could.     Many  will  be  glad  to  read  it. 


Chapter  XVIII 

CONDITIONS     IN     CAROLINA    AT    THE 
CLOSE  OF  THE   CIVIL  WAR 

BY    MARY    MENDENHALL    HOBBS 

As  a  background  for  the  work  of  the  Baltimore 
Association,  Allen  Jay  has  asked  me  to  give  Friends 
a  glimpse  of  the  condition  which  existed  here  at  the 
close  of  the  Civil  War. 

I  was  a  little  girl  in  those  days,  and  much  which 
would  now  be  of  deep  interest  was  either  unknown 
to  me  or  but  dimly  comprehended.  So  far  as  I 
know  there  are  no  records  of  these  things,  aside  from 
the  allusions  in  histories  and  books  of  fiction.  Our 
minutes  are  very  chary  in  their  references  to  actual 
conditions,  and  being  unconscious  of  the  fact  that 
they  were  making  history  in  their  daily  lives,  the 
Friends  moved  on  in  the  even  tenor  of  their  way, 
doing  the  things  nearest  them,  facing  circumstances 
as  best  they  could,  with  no  thought  of  preserving 
records  of  events. 

I  well  remember  the  anxiety  and  distress  which 
was  everywhere  in  oiu*  part  of  the  land,  and  how  we 
had  become  so  accustomed  to  lives  of  privation  and 
care  that  it  seemed  impossible  to  imagine  otuselves 
released  from  apprehension  and  dread.  Our  com- 
munity perhaps  suffered  less  than  many  others,  ow- 
ing to  the  fact  that  we  were  not  in  the  line  of  march 
of  either  army,  and  being,  in  the  main,  a  settlement 

(153) 


154  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

of  Friends,  not  many  of  the  men  in  our  neighborhood 
served  in  the  ranks.  Many  had  fled  from  home  and 
had  either  escaped  through  the  Hnes  to  prevent  being 
conscripted  and  forced  into  the  Southern  army  or 
had  "bushwhacked"  through  the  period,  which 
meant  that  they  dwelt  in  caves  and  hollow  trees  and 
slept  in  bams  and  outhouses  or  crept  secretly  into 
their  own  or  the  houses  of  kindly  disposed  neighbors, 
never  daring  to  be  seen  about  their  premises  or 
attending  to  any  business.  Even  if  the  conscript 
hunters,  who  were  always  roaming  about,  did  not 
see  them,  some  unfriendly  person  might  report 
them  and  they  be  trapped. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  such  as  had  been  able  to 
survive  returned  to  find  everything  impoverished 
— horses  gone,  cattle,  if  any,  poor;  the  merest  pre- 
tense at  farming  going  on,  tools  worn  out  and  anti- 
quated, harness  mostly  ropes,  vehicles  in  the  last 
stages  of  "  the  one-horse  shay. "  The  buildings  were 
dilapidated,  roofs  leaking,  windows  pasted  up  with 
paper  or  cloth,  hinges  broken,  fences  gone — burned 
up  in  many  cases  for  wood,  in  many  instances 
houses  and  property  destroyed  by  fire.  Eastern 
Carolina  suffered  more  than  we,  because  the  South- 
em  army  destroyed  as  it  went,  and  the  Northern 
army,  even  after  the  country  had  surrendered,  in 
pure  wantonness  burned  buildings  for  spite. 

Those  left  at  home  had  battled  along  as  best  they 
could.  Many  women  were  left  with  families  of 
small  children  and  almost  no  resources  for  their  sup- 
port. Such  had  been  assisted  by  their  neighbors  and 
relatives  as  far  as  possible.  We  learned  to  do  with 
little  and  to  live  on  com  bread,  which  was  more 
easily  provided  than  wheat.     We  could  no  more  get 


CLOSE  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR         155 

coffee,  sugar  or  tea  than  we  could  get  papers  from 
"  beyond  the  Hnes,  "  and  those  who  had  these  articles 
on  hand  saved  them  for  sick  people.  We  drank  hot 
water  tea  sweetened  with  sorghum,  and  made  coffee 
of  parched  wheat  and  dried  sweet  potatoes,  which 
was  a  great  deal  better  than  many  modem  substi- 
tutes for  coffee.  We  were  almost  all  upon  the  same 
level  and  were  in  what  we  should  now  consider  very 
straitened  circumstances,  but,  so  far  as  I  remember, 
were  always  ready  to  give  each  other  such  aid  as  was 
in  our  power. 

Little  boys  with  the  assistance  of  their  mothers 
and  sisters  had  been  obliged  to  do  what  farm  work 
was  done.  There  were  no  stores,  and  nothing  to  buy 
goods  with  if  there  had  been.  We  were  all  clothed 
in  homespun  cloth,  which  had  the  redeeming  quality 
of  lasting  a  long  time.  Our  shoes  were  of  the 
coarsest  leather,  made  from  the  skins  of  animals 
butchered  on  the  farms  and  the  hides  carried  to  some 
near  or  far  tanyard  and  there  tanned  for  a  toll  of 
one-half.  The  shoes,  which  were  not  "  Queen  Qual- 
ity, "  were  made  by  a  neighborhood  cobbler,  and  we 
were  as  delighted  with  a  new  pair  of  these  as  children 
nowadays  are  with  the  finest.  Stockings  were  made 
from  yam  spun  and  knit  at  home,  from  the  wool 
of  the  few  sheep  which  almost  every  family  kept. 

I  remember  that  lights  were  quite  an  item,  and 
sometimes  we  could  not  get  tallow  to  make  candles, 
which  we  did  in  "moulds"  which  were  borrowed  by 
the  whole  community.  As  father  was  a  great  reader, 
he  always  made  a  special  effort  to  procure  tallow 
and  wax  for  his  candles,  but  sometimes  he  failed 
and  we  had  to  resort  to  a  queer  little  grease  lamp 
with  a  wick  which  hung  out  of  a  little  spout.     This 


156   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

was  beyond  his  ability  to  manage,  and  he  gave  up 
his  books  for  the  time  being.  Generally,  people  sat 
by  the  firelight.  I  recall  that  the  first  purchase 
father  made  "  after  the  surrender  "  was  a  good  lamp, 
and  with  what  delight  and  enthusiasm  we  children 
welcomed  it  into  our  home.  Previous  to  the  war  we 
used  what  was  called  a  "fluid  lamp,"  but  during 
the  war  we  coiild  not  secure  the  "fluid,"  whatever 
it  may  have  been. 

Our  roads  are  none  of  the  best  now,  but  at  the 
close  of  the  war  they  were  well-nigh  impassable.  We 
have  many  streams  and  the  bridges  had  almost  all 
gone  to  wreck  or  been  washed  away  by  "the  big 
freshet"  which  preceded  the  close  of  the  war.  In 
this  Piedmont  section  the  streams  rise  suddenly, 
owing  to  heavy  rains  near  the  sources,  and  since  all 
had  to  be  forded  this  often  caused  great  inconven- 
ience. I  recall  the  fact  that  at  the  time  of  the 
surrender  a  near  relative  of  my  mother  was  dying 
at  the  home  of  Aunt  Delphina  E.  Mendenhall  and 
she  could  not  get  to  the  place,  although  it  was  not 
very  far  away. 

The  household  furnishings  were  in  as  dilapidated 
a  condition  as  the  farm  tools.  There  had  been  a 
constant  wear  and  tear,  with  no  opportunity  to  re- 
place or  repair.  "It  will  do"  had  come  to  be  the 
verdict,  and  anything  which  would  do  was  made  to 
do,  had  to  be ;  and  this  attitude  was  a  mental  factor 
which  had  to  be  dealt  with.  During  the  war  if  any 
of  our  cooking  utensils  or  table-ware  were  broken, 
we  had  to  do  without  these  necessaries.  Black- 
smiths did  make  knives  and  forks  sometimes,  and  for 
plates,  if  worse  came  to  worst,  we  could  use  tin  pans 
or  earthen  dishes;  for  there  were  some  rude  potter- 


CLOSE  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR         157 

ies  which  made  many  usefiil  articles,  amongst  others 
a  little  stew  kettle  which  we  could  set  on  the  coals 
on  the  hearth  and  cook  our  apples  or  dried  fruit. 
The  women  dried  all  the  fruit  they  could,  and  dried 
cherries  cooked  in  sorghum  tasted  as  good  then  as 
Heinz' s  dainties  do  now.  Sorghum  was  raised  gen- 
erally and  made  into  molasses.  Chickens,  turkeys 
and  guineas  were  raised,  and  gardens  were  planted 
and  worked  by  the  women  and  children,  who  were 
obliged  also  to  make,  as  well  as  weave,  the  clothes 
for  the  family. 

It  may  be  remarked  that  since  the  war  lasted  only 
four  years  it  would  seem  possible  that  people  might 
have  had  on  hand  materials  to  satisfy  their  needs  for 
so  short  a  period.  No  Joseph  had  arisen  to  warn  of 
the  coming  danger ;  and  while  there  had  been  an  ap- 
prehension of  the  evil  days,  no  one  knew  exactly 
when  or  how  they  would  come.  The  Friends  were 
a  simple,  rural  people,  depending  largely  upon  their 
own  labor  on  the  farms  for  their  sustenance.  Such 
money  as  had  been  saved  was  lost,  and  stored  pro- 
visions were  more  likely  to  feed  the  army  than  those 
for  whom  it  was  provided,  as  there  were  foragers  all 
the  time  seeking  for  food  and  provender  who  un- 
hesitatingly carried  off  what  they  could  find. 

Our  "Sunday  clothes"  were  made  and  remade 
out  of  the  old  dresses  of  our  mothers  and  aunts,  but 
their  old  shoes  were  not  so  pliable;  so  we  would 
appear  in  a  pretty  old  faded  muslin  dress  and  shoes 
as  coarse  as  brogans. 

Some  yoting  ladies  in  the  community  acquired 
great  skill  in  plaiting  straw,  which  they  made  into 
neat  little  hats,  and  old  bonnets  and  hats  were  made 
over  and  worn  and  worn.     I  know  we  looked  like 


is8  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

composites  of  all  styles  and  ages  to  those  dear 
Friends  who  came  first  after  the  close  of  the  war, 
but  they  looked  marvelous  to  us,  too.  I  never  shall 
forget  how  their  finery  impressed  me  far  more  than 
their  messages.  I  coiild  not  remember  how  people 
dressed  before  the  war  and  no  silk  dresses  were  on 
parade  anywhere  during  that  period.  There  must 
have  been  many  packed  away,  but  they  did  not  come 
forth ;  and  to  suddenly  behold  people,  actually  folks, 
sailing  around  in  silks  and  satins  and  wonderful  soft 
shawls  and  kid  gloves  and  silk  hats  and  all  was  as 
much  of  a  spectacle  to  my  eyes  as  I  could  have  been 
to  them.  When  you  have  no  opportunity  to  buy 
anything,  your  wits  become  active  and  you  invent 
fashions  adapted  to  the  quantity  of  material.  The 
war  seemed  interminable  and  ages  long.  The  only 
new  thing  which  I  remember  as  being  bought  for  me 
was  a  new  toothbrush — father  bought  us  each  one 
and  paid  $4.00  apiece  for  them  in  "Confederate 
paper, "  as  he  called  it ;  he  never  would  call  it  money. 
As  soon  as  the  war  was  over  the  Yankees  flocked  in 
and  put  up  stores,  but  we  had  nothing  but  "paper" 
to  buy  with.  Debts  had  been  paid  either  in  Con- 
federate money  or  State  bank  notes,  and  both  were 
alike  useless. 

Some  schools  had  been  kept  up  a  part  of  the  time 
in  different  places  and  New  Garden  Boarding-School 
had  never  been  closed.  I  have  seen  it  stated  that 
the  trustees  kept  this  school  from  closing.  They 
were  trying  to  close  it,  as  I  understand,  but  decided 
to  allow  Jonathan  E.  Cox  to  run  it  upon  his  own 
responsibility.  For  a  time  he  did  this  and  employed 
the  teachers  himself;  and,  if  I  mistake  not,  it  was 
under  this  arrangement  that  my  father  came  for  the 


ELIHU   E.   MENDENHALL. 


CLOSE  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR  159 

third  time  to  the  school.  John  R.  Hubbard  had  re- 
signed and  gone  West  and  father  was  sent  for  to  take 
charge.  There  were  so  many  changes  constantly 
going  on,  and  there  is  such  an  imperfect  record  to 
draw  upon,  that  it  is  difficult  for  one  who  but  faintly 
comprehended  matters  to  say  why  things  happened 
as  they  did;  but  after  teaching  in  the  boarding- 
school  for  a  while  some  new  arrangement  left  father 
at  liberty,  and  he  went  over  to  Jamestown,  and  there, 
at  Flint  Hill  Academy,  conducted  a  fine  school,  to 
which  several  pupils  from  a  distance  came.  The 
family  remained  at  New  Garden,  living  in  the  farm 
house  whither  they  had  been  removed  from  the 
charming  little  home  in  Florence,  North  Carolina, 
situated  within  the  limits  of  Deep  River  Meeting,  to 
which  the  Mendenhalls  had  belonged  for  more  than 
a  century. 

Another  change,  I  cannot  say  what,  returned 
father  to  the  boarding  school.  This  time,  if  I  re- 
member correctly,  he  and  Jonathan  E.  Cox  took 
the  school  jointly.  Father  was  to  teach  for  the  tui- 
tion of  the  boys  and  such  girls  as  studied  any  of  the 
languages,  and  Jonathan  E.  Cox  was  to  operate  the 
boarding  department. 

About  this  time,  or  perhaps  previous  to  it, 
father's  brother-in-law.  Dr.  Nathan  B.  Hill,  deter- 
mined to  move  to  the  West,  and  he  persuaded  father 
that  it  would  be  best  for  us  to  go  also.  The  school 
was  very  full  and  there  were  several  young  men  here 
rather  in  hiding  to  keep  out  of  the  army.  If  father 
left,  the  school  would  have  to  be  closed,  and  he  was 
in  a  very  great  strait  as  to  what  was  his  duty.  Every 
instinct  for  the  safety  of  his  family  urged  him  to 
go,  but  the  responsibility  for  the  meeting  and  the 


i6o  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

school  called  him  to  stay.  Our  trunks  and  boxes  had 
already  been  sent  to  the  station  and  we  were  ready  to 
follow,  when,  with  tears  streaming  down  his  face, 
he  told  mother  he  could  not  feel  clear  to  go,  and  she 
told  him  to  send  for  the  things  and  remain. 

Our  property  had  been  sold  and  was  gone,  but 
mother  gathered  articles  as  she  could  and  soon  had  a 
comfortable  abiding  place  arranged ;  and  father  went 
to  the  old  school-room  and  remained  through  all  the 
distress  and  perplexity  of  the  time,  true  to  his  con- 
victions. 

The  boys '  school  was  full,  and  as  they  nearly  all 
paid  their  bills  in  provisions,  we  had  stores  of  flour 
and  meat  and  corn  and  molasses — more  than  we  had 
places  to  keep  or  knew  where  to  hide ;  for  it  had  to 
be  hidden.  I  remember  that  one  boy  paid  his  tuition 
in  gold  dust  which  he  had  washed  out  of  the  sand  in 
a  creek  near  his  home,  but  that  was  all  the  gold  I 
saw  during  the  war. 

The  task  of  keeping  the  school  was  difficult  and 
unremunerative  from  a  money  standpoint,  as  the 
charge  for  tuition  was  small,  and  in  a  way  it  was 
unappreciated  self-sacrifice ;  but  he  did  the  thing  he 
determined  to  do  and  without  doubt  was  instru- 
mental in  saving  the  school. 

This  is  somewhat  of  a  retrogression,  but  it  ex- 
plains a  situation  which  is  not  always  understood. 

Our  meetings  had  been  kept  up  better  than  one 
would  think  possible.  All  of  the  yearly  meetings  had 
been  held.  John  B.  Crenshaw,  of  Richmond,  Va., 
had  visited  us  and  gave  us  great  encouragement  and 
cheer.  He,  too,  edited  a  paper  called  The  Southern 
Friend,  which  was  very  refreshing  in  those  troublous 
times  when  nothing  in  the  shape  of  the  magazines 


CLOSE  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR  i6i 

and  papers  to  which  we  had  been  accustomed  could 
be  obtained.  I  heard  some  Friends  from  the  West 
call  it  "a  rebel  sheet"  and  rejoice  that  it  had  been 
discontinued.  But  it  was  not  a  rebel  sheet.  It  was 
a  good,  clean,  wholesome  little  paper,  started  and 
kept  going  to  help  to  hold  the  breath  of  life  in  us 
while  we  were  being  battered  about.  Joseph  Neave 
threaded  his  way  through  the  lines  and  was  one  of 
the  most  welcome  visitors  who  ever  crossed  a  Quaker 
threshold. 

There  is  much  of  interest,  to  one  who  can  fill  in 
between  the  lines,  contained  in  the  yearly  meeting 
minutes  of  those  four  years,  but  the  reading  between 
the  lines  is  necessary,  because  they  did  not  record  his- 
torical fact  so  much  as  spiritual  needs  and  conditions. 
In  i860,  just  previous  to  the  outbreak  of  war,  occurs 
this  bit  of  warning  in  the  Minute  of  Advice,  which 
shows  that  Friends  were  feeling  the  effect  of  the  gen- 
eral exodus :  **  It  is  to  be  feared  that  some  have  their 
minds  so  much  set  on  moving  away  from  this  part 
of  the  land  that  they  are  neglecting  their  proper 
duties.  Whatever  may  be  right  for  us  in  this  respect 
may  we  not  forget  that  there  is  an  emigration  for  us 
all,  and  endeavor  so  to  walk  that  when  the  period  for 
it  arrives  it  may  indeed  be  to  a  better  country — that 
is,  to  a  heavenly;  and  though  a  voice  be  heard  in 
Ramah,  lamentation  and  bitter  weeping,  Rachel 
weeping  for  her  children,  the  encouraging  language 
still  remains:  'Be  thou  faithful  unto  death  and  I  will 
give  thee  a  crown  of  life. '  Let  us  wait  upon  the 
Lord  and  we  shall  experience  that  renewal  of  strength 
which  is  so  much  needed  not  for  oiu"selves  only,  but 
that  we  may  be  instrumental  in  encouraging  others 
both  by  example  and  precept  and  so  far  as  may  be 
11 


i62   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

building  up  the  waste  places.  And  even  if  we  do  not 
succeed  there  is  no  condemnation  to  the  faithful,  the 
language  to  him  being,  'Let  alone,  he  hath  done 
what  he  could.'  " 

When  I  remember  how  they  stood  their  ground 
and  braved  everything  and  never  once  thought  of 
themselves  as  heroes,  I  cannot  restrain  the  tears; 
and,  when  I  recall  how  they  divided  their  stores  and 
fed  the  hungry  and  clothed  the  naked  and  took  the 
wayfarer  in  out  of  the  cold  and  gave  of  what  they 
had,  I  know  that  they  were  of  the  faithful  to  whom 
God  has  said  "Well  done." 

At  two  homes  within  a  mile  of  Guilford  College, 
poor,  distressed  Yankee  soldiers  who  had  escaped 
from  prison  were  tenderly  cared  for,  and  the  physi- 
cian secretly  conveyed  to  them,  from  whom  they  re- 
ceived every  care ;  but  nothing  could  save  them,  and 
they  rest  in  our  burying  groimd  where  British  sol- 
diers of  the  Revolution  sleep,  together  with  hundreds 
of  our  own  people  who  were  enlisted  under  the  ban- 
ner of  the  Prince  of  Peace. 

The  meetings  and  family  worship,  which  we  were 
more  faithful  to  keep  up  than  we  are  now  in  more 
prosperous  times,  kept  us  together;  and,  although 
at  the  close  of  the  war  our  property  was  gone  and 
we  ourselves  in  rather  a  forlorn  condition,  we  did 
not  entirely  give  up  to  discouragement,  but  went  to 
work  to  gather  up  the  pieces  that  remained.  Our 
work  of  recuperation  would  have  been  slow,  and 
most  likely  we  should  have  been  beaten  in  the  fight, 
had  it  not  been  for  Francis  T.  King  and  the  Balti- 
more Association.  The  tide  of  emigration  which  had 
been  started  before  the  war  now  rose  to  an  appalling 
magnitude.     The  following  quotation  from  the  first 


CLOSE  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR         163 

annual  report  of  the  Baltimore  Association  will  give 
an  idea  of  what  was  going  on:  "Dtiring  the  spring 
and  summer  of  1865,  directly  after  Sherman's 
march,  two  of  our  number  twice  visited  North  Caro- 
lina to  distribute  provisions,  clothing  and  money, 
and  during  that  year  we  forwarded  to  the  West  about 
400  members,  adults  and  children,  50  of  whom  ar- 
rived here  destitute  at  one  time.  Though  we  dis- 
couraged this  emigration,  we  could  not  wonder  at  it, 
as  they  fled  to  escape  the  ravages  of  war  to  join  rela- 
tives who  had  prospered  in  the  West,  and  who  gave 
them  cordial  welcomes."  Our  people  left  by  car 
loads,  and  we  were  in  danger  of  being  depopulated 
so  far  as  Quakerism  was  concerned. 

Francis  T.  King  came  here  and  investigated  the 
whole  situation  and  decided  in  his  own  mind  that  it 
was  better  for  the  people  to  remain  here  upon  farms 
which  they  still  owned  and  begin  anew  to  build  for 
themselves  rather  than  to  seek  homes  in  the  West, 
to  obtain  which  they  would  necessarily  have  to  en- 
cumber themselves  with  debt.  He  was  a  seer  in  the 
broad  sense  of  the  term.  I  distinctly  remember 
hearing  him  in  our  own  home  argue  this  point  with 
Addison  Coflfin,  who  was  at  that  time  running  emi- 
grant trains  to  the  West.  Francis  wanted  the  people 
to  stay  here  and  Addison  believed  they  wotdd  be 
better  off  on  the  more  fertile  land  of  the  West.  To 
stay  this  tide  of  emigration,  the  Baltimore  Associa- 
tion was  formed,  and  to  its  beneficent  work  the 
yearly  meeting  is  indebted  to-day  for  its  existence. 

It  is  difficult  to  ascertain  how  many  Friends  there 
were  in  North  Carolina  at  the  opening  of  the  war. 
In  one  of  their  memorials  they  say,  "The  entire 
number  in  the  whole  South  does  not  exceed  5,000." 


i64   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

Whether  this  included  Baltimore  I  cannot  say,  but  I 
presume  it  did.  There  were  not  many  in  Virgina. 
They  seem  to  have  kept  no  statistical  records  except 
as  connected  with  the  use  of  intoxicants.  A  yearly 
report  of  this  matter  is  made  under  the  heads  of 
"Clear  Members,"  "Who  Use  It,"  "Not  Inquired 
Of."  These  we  infer  to  have  been  adult  members. 
In  i860  there  were  1,361  clear.  Use  it,  81.  Not 
inquired  of,  71.  Total,  1,513.  In  1864,  clear, 
1,573.  Use  it,  18.  Not  inquired  of,  81.  Total, 
1,677.  I^  1865,  clear,  1,659.  Use  it,  60.  Not  in- 
quired of,  77.  Total,  1,796.  Hence  it  would  ap- 
pear that  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  we  know  hundreds 
left  the  State  during  the  war,  we  had  more  members 
than  at  the  beginning.  In  1866  we  began  counting 
children,  and  our  spirituous  liquor  report  is  as  fol- 
lows: Clear,  1,957.  Use  it,  53.  Not  inquired  of, 
75.  Children  between  5  and  18,  840;  and  next  year 
the  number  of  children  is  given  as  998. 

While  this  is  not,  as  we  know,  an  accurate  ac- 
count, it  is  the  best  I  have  been  able  so  far  to  find 
and  will  serve  as  a  kind  of  working  basis  for  what  the 
Baltimore  Association  began  with. 

These  were  situated  in  seven  quarters — 

Eastern,  in  the  extreme  east,  on  the  Atlantic 
coast. 

Contentnea,  embracing  meetings  situated  in 
Wayne  County,  in  the  middle  of  the  State,  below  the 
fall  line. 

Western,  in  central  Carolina,  toward  the  south. 

Southern,  still  further  to  the  west  and  south. 

New  Garden  and  Deep  River,  in  the  Piedmont 
section  of  the  State,  embracing  the  northern  coimties, 
and  the  latter  extending  into  the  Blue  Ridge. 


CLOSE  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR  165 

Lost  Creek,  in  Tennessee,  since  transferred  to  Wil- 
mington Yearly  Meeting. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  Friends  dwelt  in  almost 
every  part  of  the  State.  They  had  always  been  in- 
fluential citizens  of  the  commonwealth.  Archdale, 
the  Quaker  Governor,  had  favorably  introduced 
them,  and  while  during  slavery  times  they  had  ex- 
cluded themselves  from  office,  they  were  well  known 
and  held  in  high  regard  by  men  prominent  in  public 
life.  One  of  the  most  stirring  speeches  ever  deliv- 
ered by  Governor  Graham  was  on  the  subject,  "Test 
Oaths  and  Sedition,"  and  was  spoken  in  the  State 
convention  at  Raleigh,  December  7,  1861.  As  an 
evidence  of  the  position  held  by  Friends,  I  quote  a 
part  of  this  speech : 

"  Now,  sir,  the  requirement  of  this  affirmation  to 
be  taken  by  the  denomination  called  Quakers  is  as 
effectual  an  act  of  banishment  of  that  sect  as  if  it 
had  been  plainly  denounced  in  the  ordinance.  And 
the  same  may  be  said,  I  presume,  in  relation  to  Men- 
nonists  and  Dunkers,  though  I  have  less  knowledge 
of  them.  There  were  some  of  the  last  named  class  in 
the  County  of  Lincoln  during  my  boyhood ;  whether 
they  remain  and  keep  up  their  peculiar  tenets,  I  am 
not  informed.  But  the  Quakers  are  a  well-known 
sect,  numbering  not  less  than  10,000  persons  in  the 
State — and  it  is  equally  well  known  that  they  will 
not  engage  in  war,  and  are  conscientiously  scrupulous 
against  bearing  arms.  Our  laws,  from  the  Revolu- 
tion downward  to  this  day,  have  respected  their 
scruples,  and  extended  to  them  the  charity  and  tol- 
eration due  to  the  sincerity  and  humility  of  their 
profession.  This  ordinance  wholly  disregards  their 
peciiliar  belief,  and  converts  every  man  of  them  into 


i66   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

a  warrior  or  an  exile.  True,  they  are  allowed  to 
affirm,  but  the  affirmation  is  equivalent  to  the  oath  of 
the  feudal  vassal  to  his  lord,  to  'defend  him  with 
life  and  limb  and  terrene  honor.'  It  is,  that  they 
'will,  to  the  utmost  of  their  power,  support,  main- 
tain and  defend  the  independent  government  of  the 
Confederate  States  of  America  against  the  United 
States  or  any  other  power  that  by  open  force  or 
otherwise  may  attempt  to  subvert  the  same,'  etc. 
If  this  does  not  include  military  defense,  it  is  difficult 
to  find  language  that  would.  It  is' so  well  known 
that  the  ordinary  oath  to  the  State  implies  defense 
with  arms  that  the  Quakers  have  ever  refused  to 
affirm  its  terms,  but  have  had  a  special  affirmation 
provided  for  them,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  present  Re- 
vised Code,  and  in  all  former  editions  of  our  laws. 
This  ordinance,  therefore,  is  nothing  less  than  a 
decree  of  banishment  to  them.  Sir,  this  humble 
denomination,  who  in  the  meekness  and  charity 
which  so  distinguished  their  Divine  Master,  yield 
precedence  to  none,  were  the  first  white  men  who 
made  permanent  settlements  within  our  borders. 
Scourged  and  buffeted  by  Puritanism  in  New  Eng- 
land, and  Prelacy  in  Virginia,  they  found  no  rest  or 
religious  freedom  until  they  had  put  the  great  Dismal 
Swamp  between  themselves  and  the  nearest  of  their 
persecutors.  In  the  dark  forests  of  its  southern 
border,  they  obtained  a  toleration  from  the  savage 
red  men  which  had  been  denied  them  by  their  Anglo- 
American  brethren.  There  they  opened  the  wilder- 
ness, reared  their  modest  dwellings,  and  filled  the 
land  with  the  monuments  of  civilization.  There, 
and  upon  the  upper  waters  of  the  Cape  Fear,  which 
they   subsequently   colonized,    their   posterity   has 


CLOSE  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR         167 

remained  to  this  day — a  quiet,  moral,  indus- 
trious, thrifty  people,  differing  from  us  in  opin- 
ion on  the  subject  of  slavery,  but  attempting 
no  subversion  of  the  institution — producing  abun- 
dantly by  their  labor,  paying  punctually  and 
certainly  their  dues  to  the  government  and  sup- 
porting their  own  poor.  Sir,  upon  the  expulsion 
from  among  us  of  such  people  the  civilized  world 
would  cry  'shame!'  " 

Up  to  the  time  of  the  war  the  Friends  had  gener- 
ally carried  on  schools  in  their  communities,  and 
their  children  had  been  educated  at  the  boarding- 
school.  During  the  war  most  of  these  schools  per- 
ished, and  at  its  close  there  were  many  just  enter- 
ing young  manhood  and  womanhood  who  had  had 
little  opportunity  to  secure  any  education.  Previous 
to  the  Civil  War  there  had  been  an  educational  com- 
mittee, composed  of  two  men  and  two  women 
Friends  from  each  of  the  nineteen  monthly  meetings. 
This  committee  was  appointed  in  1848,  and  in  the 
Summary  Report  for  185 1  there  were  804  children 
between  five  and  sixteen  years  of  age,  and  334  be- 
tween sixteen  and  twenty-one.  Of  these,  i ,  1 04  were 
reported  as  receiving  some  education.  As  times 
grew  more  strenuous  and  doubt  and  discouragement 
were  abroad  in  the  land,  this  committee  relaxed  its 
efforts  and  was  finally  discontinued,  and  nothing  of 
the  kind  was  attempted  during  the  war.  In  1865  an- 
other education  committee  was  appointed  to  act  in 
conjunction  with  the  Baltimore  Association,  which 
reported  regularly  thereafter.  This  committee  was 
Joseph  R.  Parker,  Isham  Cox,  Thomas  J.  Benbow, 
Thomas  Pearson,  Allen  U.  Tomlinson  and  Nathan 
F.  Spencer. 


i68   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

First-day  schools  had  not  been  general,  although 
there  had  been  a  few  scattered  through  the  yearly- 
meeting.  In  1864  this  minute  is  recorded:  "The 
importance  of  the  establishment  of  First-day  schools 
within  our  limits  claiming  our  attention,  it  is  ad- 
vised that  subordinate  meetings  adopt  measures  for 
that  piupose, "  and  thereafter  there  was  a  yearly  re- 
port of  this  work. 

The  peciiliar  views  and  testimonies  of  Friends 
were  much  dwelt  upon  by  our  ministers  and  over- 
seers during  the  war,  and  we  were  exhorted  to  be 
faithful  in  all  those  peculiarities.  The  following 
from  a  Minute  of  Advice  will  illustrate  the  general 
attitude:  "We  verily  believe  that  the  great  distress 
in  which  our  country  is  now  plunged  is  in  a  large  de- 
gree traceable  to  the  hireling  ministers  of  the  present 
day.  We  fear  that  some  of  them,  feeling  that  their 
places  and  living  may  depend  upon  the  doctrines 
which  were  preached,  have  failed  to  enforce  the 
truths  of  the  Gospel  in  its  fullness;  while  others 
from  the  same  cause  have  advocated  doctrines  di- 
rectly at  variance  with  the  teachings  of  Christ.  Let 
us  then  be  careful,  while  treating  all  men  with  kind- 
ness and  love,  that  we  do  not  lower  this  important 
principle — that  a  piu"e  Gospel  ministry  must  be 
free." 

We  had  been  a  little  band  of  believers  in  peace  in 
the  midst  of  war,  of  antislavery  abolitionists  in  the 
heart  of  slave  territory,  of  hearts  almost  to  a  unit 
loyal  to  the  Union  in  the  midst  of  secession.  The 
way  had  not  been  strewn  with  flowers.  Espionage 
and  a  degree  of  persecution  had  drawn  us  closer  to- 
gether and  intensified  both  our  principles  and  our 
prejudices.     We  had  had  almost  no  intercourse  with 


CLOSE  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR  169 

the  outside  world.  Almost  everything  was  gone  ex- 
cept the  bare  hills,  the  abundant  forests  and  our- 
selves. I  flatter  myself  that  even  thus  we  had  a 
goodly  heritage,  and  under  the  kindly  nurture  of 
some  of  the  noblest  men  who  ever  blessed  God's 
earth,  we  were  enabled  to  rise  from  the  dust  and 
discouragement  of  the  past  and  set  our  faces  toward 
the  rising  sun. 

The  association  first  sent  us  Joseph  Moore,  whose 
presence  was  that  of  light-bringer.  Then  Allen  Jay, 
who  somehow  anointed  us  with  the  oil  of  gladness 
and  kept  us  from  faltering.  But  these  matters  are 
not  for  me,  but  will  be  told  by  one  who  knows  both 
sides  of  the  situation. 

Guilford  College,  N.  C, 


Chapter  XIX 

WORK   AND    LEADERS    OF    THE    BALTI- 
MORE ASSOCIATION 

The    Field   Opened  for   the   Baltimore    Association 

The  foregoing  account  by  Mary  Mendenhall 
Hobbs,  telling  in  her  own  pleasant  way  the  privations 
and  trials  of  Friends  in  the  South  during  the  war 
and  the  condition  they  were  left  in  at  its  close,  is  a 
fit  introduction  to  the  organization  of  an  association 
in  the  city  of  Baltimore  having  for  its  name  and 
object  "The  Baltimore  Association  of  Friends  to 
Assist  and  Advise  with  the  Friends  in  the  Southern 
States. "  The  need  of  this  can  never  be  fully  known 
except  by  those  who  passed  through  it.  We  of  the 
North  will  never  be  able  to  appreciate  the  condition 
that  our  dear  Friends  of  the  South  were  in  at  the 
close  of  the  war.  We  will  give  here  a  clipping  from 
the  Baltimore  American,  dated  Eighth  month  6,  1883, 
in  which  a  short  risumi  of  the  work  is  made : 

"  One  First-day  morning,  towards  the  close  of  the 
war,  two  men  appeared  in  front  of  the  Friends  meet- 
ing-house, on  Courtland  Street,  and  quietly  waited 
luitil  the  services  were  over.  As  the  members  were 
coming  out  of  the  building,  the  two  strangers  in- 
formed several  of  the  congregation  that  there  were 
some  North  Carolina  Friends  at  one  of  the  city 
wharves  in  destitute  circumstances.  A  committee 
at  once  repaired  to  the  locality  and  found  there  fifty 

(170) 


BALTIMORE  ASSOCIATION  171 

persons,  of  all  ages  and  conditions,  whose  homes  had 
been  mined  by  the  passage  of  Johnston's  and  Sher- 
man's armies  through  the  section  in  which  they 
lived.  They  had  obtained  permission  to  go  to  their 
friends  in  the  Northwest.  Their  suffering  excited 
a  warm  sympathy,  and  steps  were  at  once  taken  for 
their  comfort.  But  the  charity  did  not  stop  there. 
Permission  was  obtained  from  President  Lincoln  to 
send  a  vessel  load  of  provisions  and  agricultural 
implements  to  the  other  Friends  in  North  Carolina, 
and  450  more  soon  passed  through  the  city,  and 
they,  too,  received  assistance.  The  temporary  aid 
thus  extended  became  an  established  permanency, 
and  the  Baltimore  Association  of  Friends  in  the 
South  was  formed.  This  society,  in  a  quiet  way, 
has  been  accomplishing  a  great  deal  of  good  in 
North  Carolina.  It  has  expended  over  $122,500 
since  the  close  of  the  war  in  educational  and  agri- 
cultural work.  The  magnitude  and  efficiency  of  the 
results  have  recently  been  brought  to  light  through 
extended  notices  in  the  North  Carolina  papers  and 
the  dedication  of  large  school  buildings  and  meeting- 
houses. 

"  In  1750,  New  Garden,  in  the  western  part  of  the 
State,  was  settled  by  a  colony  of  Friends.  This  set- 
tlement formed  a  nucleus  of  a  still  larger  settlement 
and  the  Friends  increased  both  in  numbers  and  in- 
fluence. Over  half  a  century  ago  a  school  was  estab- 
lished.    It  has  continued  prosperously  ever  since. 

"The  Baltimore  Association  has  organized  a  sys- 
tem of  schools  in  thirteen  counties  of  the  State ;  took 
great  interest  in  the  institution  at  New  Garden,  and 
has  just  expended  $22,000  in  the  enlargement  of  the 
buildings  and  the  extension  and  addition  of  new  halls 


172   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

and  general  improvements,  making  it  one  of  the  most 
prominent  institutions  in  the  State.  The  opening 
exercises  took  place  last  week  in  the  presence  of  a 
thousand  people,  among  them  being  Governor  Jarvis, 
General  Scales,  member  of  Congress;  Dr.  Worth, 
treasurer  of  the  State,  and  a  large  number  of  the 
leading  editors  of  the  State.  The  Baltimore  Asso- 
ciation was  represented  by  Francis  T.  King  and  Dr. 
James  C.  Thomas.  All  the  gentlemen  made  very  in- 
teresting and  able  addresses.  Dr.  Mendenhall  read 
a  full  historical  account  of  the  Yearly  Meeting  of 
Friends  compiled  from  original  records  as  far  back 
as  the  year  1704,  when  George  Fox  landed  in  Caro- 
lina and  gathered  a  church  near  the  waters  of  the 
Albemarle. 

"The  Friends  first  landed  in  this  country  in 
Massachusetts  in  1656.  They  made  their  way  down 
to  North  Carolina  and  at  one  time  formed  over  one- 
half  of  the  colonists  of  the  State. 

"The  labors  of  the  Baltimore  Society  have  been 
fraught  with  gratifying  results.'  Its  system  of 
schools  has  given  education  not  only  to  all  the  chil- 
dren of  the  Friends,  but  to  1,300  children  of  other 
denominations.  The  establishment  of  the  institu- 
tion has  stopped  all  emigration  of  the  Friends  from 
the  States  to  the  West  and  increased  their  member- 
ship from  2,200  to  5,641,  and  the  number  of  meet- 
ing-houses from  28  to  52.  A  similar  work  has  been 
carried  on  in  Eastern  Tennessee,  where  there  are 
700  Friends.  The  Society  has  also  conducted  a 
model  farm  at  a  central  location,  and  has  established 
agricultural  clubs  in  various  parts  of  the  State. 
Some  years  it  has  sent  as  much  as  two  tons  of  clover 
seed  from  Baltimore  to  North  Carolina. 


BALTIMORE  ASSOCIATION  173 

"The  officers  of  the  Baltimore  Association  are: 
President,  Francis  T.  King;  treasurer,  Jesse  Tyson; 
secretary,  John  C.  Thomas;  directors,  Dr.  James  C. 
Thomas,  Francis  White,  Dr.  Caleb  Winslow,  James 
Carey  and  Joseph  P.  Elliott. 

"Mr.  King  was  seen  by  an  American  reporter 
yesterday  and  asked  what  improvements  he  had 
noted  in  the  South.  'I  notice,'  he  replied,  'that  a 
great  stimulus  is  being  given  to  education  in  the 
South.  New  schools  are  springing  up,  many  of 
them  being  of  high  grades.  In  one  town  of  5,000 
inhabitants  two  large  post-grade  schools  are  being 
established,  each  of  which  will  have  a  brick  biiilding 
and  would  be  an  ornament  to  the  city  of  Baltimore. 
The  money  was  contributed  by  the  people.'  " 

In  1874,  the  Friends  Review  had  the  following 
to  say:  "The  Friends  of  the  yearly  meetings  on  this 
continent,  with  those  of  London  and  Dublin,  ren- 
dered Friends  of  North  Carolina,  through  the  agency 
of  the  Baltimore  Educational  Association,  the 
assistance  they  so  much  stood  in  need  of  after  four 
years  of  trial  and  suffering,  and  have  been  greatly 
blessed  in  promoting  their  religious  and  material 
interests,  and  we  believe  it  has  always  been  a  blessing 
to  their  neighborhoods  generally,  commending  to 
many  hearts  the  Gospel  message  of  '  Peace  on  Earth, 
Good  Will  to  Men. ' 

"North  Carolina  Yearly  Meeting  abolished  slavery 
within  its  limits  at  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  from  which  period  to  the  breaking  out  of  the 
rebellion  there  was  a  steady  and  large  emigration 
of  their  members  to  the  West,  composed  mainly  of 
families  escaping  from  the  power  and  influence  of 
slavery,  that  they  might  bring  up  their  children 


174   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

tinder  free  institutions.  The  character  and  exten- 
sion of  this  emigration  seriously  diminished  their 
numbers,  and,  had  their  members  been  able  to  sell 
their  farms  in  1 86 1 ,  there  would  have  been  a  general 
movement  to  the  free  States.  But  we  believe  it  was 
providentially  overruled,  and  they  were  left  isolated 
for  four  long  years  from  their  brethren  and  their 
government,  the  history  and  suffering  of  which  period 
have  already  been  given. 

"When  the  war  closed  in  1865  the  same  desire  to 
move  away  again  seized  upon  them,  and,  but  for 
prompt  aid  and  counsel  through  the  Baltimore  Asso- 
ciation, serious  consequences  would  have  resulted 
to  the  organization  of  the  yearly  meeting,  and  great 
pecuniary  and  personal  sacrifice  to  Friends  individ- 
ually. 

"In  1 86 1  there  were  seven  quarterly  meetings,  31 
meetings  for  worship,  12  Friends  schools  and  2,200 
members.  In  1873  there  were  eight  quarterly  meet- 
ings, 44  meetings  for  worship,  42  Friends  schools 
and  over  5,000  members. 

"The  educational  and  agricultural  work  in  the 
South,  undertaken  in  brotherly  love  by  the  United 
Yearly  Meetings,  had  been  so  rich  and  varied  in  its 
character,  so  speedy  and  permanent  in  its  results,  so 
economical  in  its  management,  and  so  evidently 
blessed  of  the  Lord,  that  we  desire  to  encourage  our 
Friends  of  North  Carolina  to  continue  the  work." 

The  Master  Hand  at  the  Helm. 

Having  given  the  cause  and  origin  of  the  Balti- 
more Association,  it  will  be  appropriate  to  pause  for 
a  little  time  and  speak  of  the  man  who,  more  than 
any  other,  saw  the  necessity  of  such  an  association, 


BALTIMORE  ASSOCIATION  175 

and  who,  during  its  years  of  existence,  did  more  than 
any  other  one  to  make  its  work  a  real  success. 
Others  labored  faithfully  and  efficiently,  but  I  think 
we  all  recognize  the  fact  that  he  was  the  master 
hand  at  the  helm.  It  would  be  pleasant  to  give  a 
word  picture  of  this  man,  who  was  a  leader  and  who 
led  wisely  and  efficiently. 

Francis  Thompson  King  was  bom  in  Baltimore, 
Second  month  25,  181 9.  He  was  carefully  trained 
and  educated  in  the  Society  of  Friends,  and  early 
became  convinced  of  the  sin  of  slavery  and  war. 

About  this  time  Joseph  John  Gumey,  while  on  a 
visit  to  this  country,  stopped  at  Joseph  King's  house, 
and  his  son,  F.  T.  King,  became  an  avowed  Christian 
in  1838.  He  fully  accepted  the  doctrine  of  the 
Gospel  as  held  by  the  Friends  and  ever  remained 
loyal  to  the  interests  of  Baltimore  Yearly  Meeting, 
with  which  he  was  actively  connected  through  the 
remainder  of  his  life.  He  served  as  clerk  of  the 
yearly  meeting  for  many  years,  was  an  elder  worthy 
of  double  honor,  and  a  member  of  various  commit- 
tees. For  sixteen  years  he  engaged  in  business,  but 
in  1856,  having  obtained  the  amount  he  had  previ- 
ously fixed  upon  as  needful  for  his  support,  he 
retired  from  active  business  that  he  might  give  him- 
self more  directly  to  the  Lord's  work. 

John  C.  Thomas  knew  him  well,  and,  in  a  recent 
letter  to  the  writer,  gives  this  brief  word  picture  of 
our  mutual  friend:  "  He  was  a  remarkable  combina- 
tion of  widely  differing  and  valuable  qualities,  a 
sanguine  temperament  with  a  conservative  disposi- 
tion, enthusiastic,  but  cautious;  quick  to  devise 
plans,  yet  holding  all  in  subjection  to  religious  prin- 
ciples and  to  his  understanding  of  God's  will  for  him ; 


176   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

an  elder  with  spiritual  discernment  and  earnest  con- 
cern for  the  growth  of  the  Church  and  for  the  devel- 
opment of  gifts;  though  a  zealous  Friend,  yet  with 
a  wide  outlook,  broad  and  sympathizing ;  a  genmne 
fellowship  with  all  believers  in  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ."  Being  faithful  with  his  early  covenant  to 
retire  from  active  business  as  soon  as  he  became 
possessed  of  a  moderate  competency,  and  devote 
himself  to  benevolent  work,  it  was  not  long  before 
appeals  for  his  services  and  help  pressed  upon  him 
and  met  a  hearty  response.  Many  institutions  and 
associations  and  individuals  were  guided  to  success 
by  his  advice  and  assistance.  I  remember  him  telling 
me  at  one  time  that  he  was  connected  with  over  one 
dozen  benevolent  institutions  and  Christian  associa- 
tions, as  president,  vice-president,  trustee  or  director. 
For  many  years  he  took  active  interest  in  the  Mary- 
land Bible  Society,  and  was  one  of  its  active  mana- 
gers. He  took  great  interest  in  the  work  of  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  of  his  native  city.  Also  in  the  orphan 
asylums  and  hospitals  and  similar  irtstitutions.  He 
was  president  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Johns 
Hopkins  University  and  the  Johns  Hopkins  Hospital. 
He  gave  much  time  and  labor  in  getting  those 
institutions  started  and  in  proper  working  order. 
He  was  also  one  of  the  trustees  of  Bryn  Mawr  College, 
and  was  actively  engaged  in  the  promotion  and 
building  up  of  that  institution.  So  when  the 
Baltimore  Association  was  formed,  as  described  in 
a  previous  chapter,  those  who  knew  him  would 
naturally  expect  to  see  him  taking  a  leading  part  in 
the  organization  and  one  of  its  active  spirits  in 
carrying  it  forward.  He  felt  that  North  Carolina 
Yearly  Meeting  should  continue  to  be  the  center 


BALTIMORE  ASSOCIATION  177 

of  religious  influence  in  the  South,  and  that  Guilford 
College  should  be  made  a  center  of  Quaker  education 
in  the  Old  North  State,  where  early  Quakerism 
found  a  foothold  in  the  days  of  Fox  and  Edmund- 
son  and  others  of  the  early  pioneers,  but  which  bid 
fair  to  be  routed  out.  He  saw  the  danger,  and  with 
others  threw  himself  into  the  breach  and  turned 
back  the  tide  of  emigration  to  the  West.  He  visited 
every  yearly  meeting  in  this  land,  also  London  and 
Dublin  Yearly  Meetings  on  the  other  side,  endeavor- 
ing in  this  effort  to  build  up  the  waste  places  in  North 
Carolina  Yearly  Meeting  and  restore  it  to  its  proper 
rank  among  the  yearly  meetings  of  this  continent. 
He  labored  both  with  men  and  boys,  in  public  and  in 
private.  His  correspondence  was  extensive,  laying 
the  work  before  Friends  everywhere.  During  the 
time  of  the  association  work  he  made  about  forty 
visits  to  the  field  in  North  Carolina  and  Tennessee. 
He  wanted  to  see  the  work  himself.  No  privation 
was  too  great.  With  my  horse  and  open  spring 
wagon,  we  would  leave  our  home  at  Bush  Hill  and 
drive  around  through  Randolph,  Guilford,  Alamance, 
and  the  adjoining  counties  for  ten  days  or  two  weeks, 
visiting  schools  and  meetings,  holding  religious 
and  educational  meetings  in  different  neighbor- 
hoods. Sometimes  our  journey  would  be  up  towards 
the  mountains,  but  wherever  we  went  we  always 
had  a  word  of  encouragement  for  those  we  met. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  dwell  upon  some  of  our 
conversations  as  he  would  review  the  field,  talk  over 
the  different  schools  and  meetings,  and  dwell  upon 
what  the  future  would  be  in  North  Carolina  relig- 
iously, educationally  and  agriculturally.  He  saw 
the  beginning  and  the  growth  of  his  vision.  It  is 
12 


178   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

the  privilege  of  some  of  the  rest  of  us  to  see  more 
of  it,  but  none  of  us  have  yet  seen  the  full  fruition 
of  those  years  of  patience  and  toil. 

He  died  peacefully,  after  a  few  days'  illness,  on 
the  1 8th  of  Twelfth  month,  1891. 

'John  Scott,  of  Baltimore  Yearly  Meeting 

There  are  one  or  two  other  persons  who  should 
claim  our  thoughts  as  we  pass  on.  Our  dear  friend, 
John  Scott,  a  minister  of  Baltimore  Yearly  Meeting, 
was  among  the  first  to  go  to  North  Carolina  to  spy 
out  the  condition  that  Friends  were  left  in  and  the 
best  way  to  supply  their  needs.  Although  advanced 
in  years,  he  was  active  and  energetic  in  the  work, 
his  mission  being  to  look  after  the  temporal  needs  of 
our  dear  Friends,  and  to  help  them  get  started  again 
in  a  financial  way.     Thus  he  spent  most  of  a  year. 

He  reached  Greensboro,  North  Carolina,  Twelfth 
month  23,  1865,  and  attended  monthly  meeting  at 
New  Garden  on  the  27th.  The  meeting  appointed 
Joshua  Lindley,  Uriah  Macy  and  John  Carter  to 
assist  him  and  Joseph  Moore  in  their  work.  Dover 
Monthly  Meeting,  on  the  28th,  appointed  Thomas  J. 
Benbow  and  Lewis  Starbuck  for  a  similar  purpose. 
It  is  interesting  to  read  his  diary,  in  which  he  noted 
all  the  particulars  of  each  day's  doings:  "Went  to 
Allen  U.  Tomlinson's  on  the  29th.  On  First-day 
attended  a  meeting  at  Springfield,  and  on  the  first 
day  of  the  year,  1866,  started  two  schools  in  the 
limits  of  Springfield  Monthly  Meeting,  one  at  Oak 
Forest,  under  the  care  of  Franklin  S.  Blair,  whose 
salary  was  $2  5  per  month ;  the  other  at  Springfield, 
under  the  care  of  Alpheus  L.  Mendenhall,  at  $35 
per  month. " 


J0SP:PH  MOORE. 


BALTIMORE  ASSOCIATION  179 

Then  he  goes  on  to  tell  about  looking  after  the 
work  at  Marlboro,  Centre,  Cane  Creek,  Spring, 
Forbush,  Hunting  Creek  and  Piney  Woods,  where 
he  distributed  calicoes,  flannels,  shawls,  cloth  of  all 
sorts,  pins,  needles,  etc.  On  the  14th  he  went 
to  New  Garden  and  bought  John  Carter's  gray  mare, 
Fannie,  for  Joseph  Moore  to  use,  also  a  bridle  and 
saddle,  paying  $15  for  the  saddle  and  bridle  and 
$125  for  the  mare.  In  this  way  he  passed  over  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  yearly  meeting,  giving  a 
detailed  account  of  his  travels,  also  the  condition  of 
families,  schools  and  meetings.  But  most  of  those 
homes  are  now  changed  and  the  individuals  named 
have  passed  away. 

Richard  M.  Janney,  who  went  down  with  John 
Scott,  did  not  remain  very  long.  Sarah  M.  Smiley, 
who  was  a  pioneer  in  the  field,  soon  turned  her 
attention  to  the  work  among  the  freedmen,  in  which 
line  she  labored  faithfully  for  several  years,  and  her 
work  was  much  blessed. 

'Joseph  Moore  and  Hts  Work 

At  this  point  it  is  fitting  to  speak  at  length 
about  Joseph  Moore,  who  was  a  leader  in  organizing 
day  schools  and  Bible  schools  and  in  lecturing  along 
educational  lines. 

He  was  bom  in  Washington  Coimty,  Indiana, 
Second  month  29,  1832,  and  was  the  son  of  John 
Parker  and  Martha  Cadwalader  Moore.  Until  he  was 
twenty  years  old,  he  spent  most  of  his  time  upon  the 
farm,  helping  to  clear  the  ground  for  ctdtivation  and 
doing  all  kinds  of  farm  work.  From  four  to  six 
months  per  year  were  spent  in  school.     Barnabas  C. 


i8o   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

Hobbs  and  Myra  Lindley  were  his  first  teachers.  He 
early  loved  nature  in  her  various  aspects.  He  knew 
no  one  who  had  made  a  study  of  plants,  but,  finding 
a  book  on  botany,  he  borrowed  it  and  soon  had  a 
botanical  garden  of  wild  flowers,  which  he  tried  with 
no  little  pains  to  classify. 

He  said  of  himself,  "  I  had  strong  religious  con- 
victions in  my  early  years  and  a  tender  conscience, 
often  suffering  from  doing  violence  to  my  sense  of 
right." 

He  taught  his  first  school  in  Jackson  County  in 
the  winter  of  1850  and  1851,  the  second  at  Blue  River 
Seminary  in  the  stmimer  of  1852.  At  the  age  of 
twenty-one  he  sold  his  colt  and  went  to  Friends 
Boarding-School,  now  Earlham  College.  He  joined 
with  William  B.  Morgan,  teacher  of  mathematics, 
and  Zaccheus  Test,  teacher  of  classics,  in  purchasing 
$200  worth  of  apparatus  from  E.  S.  Richey  &  Son, 
Boston,  Mass.  He  spent  two  years  at  Harvard, 
tmder  Agassiz,  Gray  and  Wyman.  In  1861,  having 
received  the  degree  of  B.S.,  he  returned  to  Earlham 
College  and  took  the  position  of  Professor  of  Science. 
He  opened  a  laboratory  in  the  fall  of  186 1  and  taught 
qualitative  analysis,  which  Professor  Wylie  says  was 
in  advance  of  the  work  done  in  any  other  college  in 
Indiana.  He  was  married  Eighth  month,  1862,  to 
Deborah  A.  Stanton,  who  died  in  the  autumn  of 
1864,  leaving  one  son,  J.  E.  Moore.  In  the  autumn 
of  1865,  soon  after  the  opening  of  the  college  term, 
his  health  suddenly  failed.  He  had  hemorrhage  of 
the  lungs,  and  for  several  weeks  recovery  was 
thought  to  be  doubtful.  As  he  grew  better  he  was 
asked  by  the  Baltimore  Association  to  go  to  North 
Carolina  and  take  charge  of  the  educational  and 


BALTIMORE  ASSOCIATION 


i»i 


religious  work  that  they  were  carrying  on  in  that 
State  and  in  Tennessee.  This  work,  as  we  have 
already  seen,  was  to  restore  in  part  what  had  been 
lost  in  the  war,  to  make  a  more  efficient  and  influen- 
tial body  of  working  Christians  and  to  stay  the  tide 
of  emigration  to  the  West  and  North.  With  the 
change  of  climate  and  the  outdoor  life  afforded  in 
traveling  from  moiuitain  to  sea  and  from  sea  to 
mountain  and  over  into  Tennessee,  his  health 
gradually  returned,  so  that  for  three  years  he  hardly 
missed  as  many  days.  He  had  three  precious  years, 
"with  a  people  scattered  and  peeled  by  war." 
With  the  help  of  the  Baltimore  Association  and  the 
Friends  in  North  Carolina,  schools  were  started, 
normal  schools  organized  and  school  supplies  were 
shipped  from  the  North,  He  instituted  Bible 
schools  and  schools  for  training  Bible  teachers, 
and  went  from  one  neighborhood  to  another  lectur- 
ing and  talking  on  various  subjects  to  the  hungry 
multitude.  " I  never  had  any  fear, "  he  says,  "that 
I  was  in  the  wrong  place,  with  access  to  so  many 
parents,  so  many  children,  so  many  people  generally, 
of  all  grades  and  classes. "  So  what  seemed  in  the 
autumn  of  1865  a  great  personal  calamity,  was  but 
the  continuation  of  personal  blessing. 

After  three  years  in  North  Carolina,  he  was  called 
to  the  prcvsidency  of  Earlham  College,  which  post  he 
held  for  fourteen  years,  from  1869  to  1883.  He  was 
married  again  in  the  spring  of  1872  to  Mary  Thome. 
I  will  close  my  account  of  Joseph  Moore  by  adding  a 
description  from  one  who  was  intimately  acquainted 
with  him: 

"Joseph  Moore  was  a  singularly  winning  person- 
ality, though  it  is  difficult  to  analyze  the  soiurces  of 


i82   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

his  power  over  those  with  whom  he  came  in  contact. 
Certain  traits,  however,  were  conspicuous  in  all  his 
relations.  He  had  a  large  capacity  for  friendship. 
There  was  a  receptive  welcome  in  his  attitude,  a  gra- 
cious geniality  in  his  bearing,  a  kindliness  in  his 
smile  and  in  the  cordial  and  frank  light  of  his  eye 
that  drew  to  him  alike  child  and  adult,  man  and 
woman.  Loyal  himself,  he  inspired  loyalty  in  others, 
and  a  host  of  loving  friends  in  all  the  places  where 
his  work  was  done  attest  his  power  of  giving  and 
gaining  friendship. 

"He  loved  men  as  individuals  and  mankind  at 
large.  He  believed  in  the  best  in  man  and  called  out 
the  best  in  response.  His  was  a  broad  but  practical 
optimism  which  had  faith  in  God's  good  purpose  for 
the  uplifting,  purifying,  and  ennobling  of  the  com- 
mon men  and  women  who  make  up  this  world.  His 
faith  in  the  best  in  men  and  his  frank  and  sincere 
appeal  to  it,  both  directly  and  by  implication,  was 
one  of  the  causes  of  his  strong  hold  on  the  young  men 
and  women  with  whom  his  teaching  brought  him  in 
touch.  They  caught  the  inspiration  of  his  ideals. 
He  made  his  own  spiritual  vision  vital  realities  to 
them,  and  many  a  one  responded  with  the  fine  zeal  of 
youth,  and,  striving  after  these  same  ideals,  grew 
into  new  beauty  of  character.  For  though  he  loved 
beauty  and  truth  in  nature  and  in  art,  pre-eminently 
he  loved  the  truth  and  beauty  expressed  in  human 
life — the  creation  of  noble  character.  His  love  of 
service  amounted  to  a  passion;  no  child,  no  halting 
pupil  was  too  insignificant  to  share  his  gracious 
helpfulness,  if  he  saw  the  need.  Whether  it  was  an 
individual,  personal  need  or  a  broad  and  general  one, 
if  the  need  were  there  and  the  cause  right,  it  met  a 


BALTIMORE  ASSOCIATION  183 

ready  response.  He  spent  generously  of  his  time, 
his  strength,  and  his  money  for  education,  both  for 
Earlham  and  for  the  work  in  North  Carolina.  He 
was  most  self-forgetful  in  his  service  for  education 
wherever  he  had  opportunity. 

"A  further  source  of  his  power  lay  in  his  whole- 
some and  sane  simplicity,  a  simplicity  which  he  saw 
with  sure  insight,  the  essential  good,  the  untram- 
meled  truth.  And  such  essentials  he  loved  with 
a  sure  and  steadfast  devotion. 

"  Gentle  to  a  degree,  yet  the  strength  of  his  char- 
acter showed  itself  in  unflinching  fidelity  to  his 
conviction  and  unswerving  loyalty  to  the  truth. 
There  was  never  any  public  vacillation  with  him. 
He  was  fearless  and  firm,  yet  tactful  and  considerate 
in  questions  of  college  administration  or  in  the  still 
broader  problems  of  the  Church  or  of  politics. 

To  be  true  to  the  truth  and  faithful. 
Though  the  world  be  arrayed  for  a  lie." 

And  we  often  heard  him  say,  "  Truth  is  the  high- 
est thing  a  man  may  keep. "  Along  with  his  love  of 
truth  was  a  profound  reverence  for  it.  He  rever- 
enced the  smallest  fact  of  science  as  well  as  the 
greatest  and  most  comprehensive  laws,  because 
either  is  a  revelation  of  God.  All  poetry  or  other 
literature  in  which  the  truth  of  man's  experience 
found  expression  appealed  to  him.  His  religion 
was  a  firm  faith  in  the  truth  as  revealed  in  the  soul 
of  man  by  the  spirit  of  God,  unhampered  by  narrow 
creed  or  difficult  dogma,  a  truth  which  was  livable 
in  any  human  life. 

Withal  he  met  his  life  and  its  opportunities  and 
responsibilities  with  a  glad  courage  and  an  absolute 


i84   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

sincerity.  He  loved  his  work  as  teacher  and  min- 
ister, and  felt  the  call  to  both  as  equally  strong  and 
equally  divine.  He  had  the  same  high  purpose  in 
both.  It  was  the  sincere  living  of  the  message  which 
his  lips  uttered,  that  sent  it  home  to  men's  hearts 
with  conviction  and  power.  Whether  as  teacher  or 
preacher,  he  transmitted  his  own  vital  knowledge  of 
truth  to  others  and  lived  as  an  incarnation  of  the 
truth  he  taught.  One  of  his  old  students  says  of  him, 
"  To  inspire  a  passionate  love  for  truth  in  the  hearts 
of  young  men  and  women  is  the  greatest  thing  man  or 
woman  can  do.  *  *  *  Somehow  his  own  tender 
love  for  truth  communicated  itself  to  us."  And  a 
lifelong  friend  says,  "There  was  something  in  him 
that  always  seemed  to  make  God  and  goodness  a 
deeper  reality  to  you,  to  confirm  you  in  the  Chris- 
tian life  and  to  give  a  higher  impulse  to  your  whole 
being." 


Chapter  XX 

DUTIES  AS  SUPERINTENDENT  FOR  THE 
BALTIMORE  ASSOCIATION 

Having  now  given  some  idea  of  the  condition  of 
Friends  in  North  Carolina  at  the  close  of  the  war, 
and  an  accotint  of  the  formation  of  the  Baltimore 
Association,  also  a  brief  sketch  of  some  of  the  leading 
characters  connected  with  the  work,  we  can  now 
proceed  to  speak  of  the  work  in  general  and  some 
of  the  results  that  were  accomplished.  It  would  be 
difficult  to  dwell  upon  the  particulars  and  give  the 
details,  because  of  my  intimate  connection  with  the 
various  departments,  without  speaking  of  myself 
more  than  is  pleasant  or  becoming,  but  I  will 
try  to  keep  myself  hidden  as  much  as  possible. 

I  wish  I  could  tell  of  Friends  and  their  heroic 
sacrifice.  Many  whose  names  have  not  been  seen  in 
public  did  much  to  bring  about  the  great  results. 
When  we  reached  there  Joseph  Moore  and  his  co- 
laborers  had  started  a  nimiber  of  schools,  organized 
a  normal  training  school  for  teachers,  had  held  some 
Bible-school  conferences  and  had  opened  up  the 
channel  for  securing  supplies  of  books  and  stationery 
from  William  Wood  &  Co.,  New  York.  It  was  my 
duty  to  press  the  good  work  forward  and  into  new 
fields;  seek  out  places  where  there  were  no  schools; 
assist  in  building  new  school-houses;  employ  more 
teachers ;  visit  the  meetings  and  schools ;  stir  up  and 
keep  alive  the  interest  through  the  length  and 
breadth  of  the  yearly  meeting,  and  try  to  enlarge  the 

(185) 


186   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

work  in  all  directions.  The  Baltimore  Association, 
at  a  meeting  held  in  Baltimore,  Twelfth  month  2 1 , 
1865,  adopted  the  following  set  of  rules  to  govern 
the  superintendent  in  his  labors : 

1.  He  must  keep  a  clear  cash  accoiint. 

2.  He  must  keep  a  journal. 

3.  He  must  report  weekly  to  the  board. 

4.  He  must  have  a  central  office,  a  room  that 
can  be  hired  and  fitted  up  for  storage  of  books, 
clothes,  stationery,  etc.,  and  to  which  letters  can 
be  addressed. 

5.  There  is  an  Educational  Committee  ap- 
pointed by  North  Carolina  Yearly  Meeting  with 
which  our  superintendent  is  to  confer  when  neces- 
sary. The  committee  and  the  Baltimore  Association 
control  the  schools  jointly. 

6.  The  boarding-school  is  to  remain  under  the 
care  of  its  trustees,  we  have  nothing  to  do  with  the 
management,  but  we  have  agreed  to  spend  upon  the 
repairs  of  the  building  this  year  $1,500,  including 
roofing,  etc.,  and  $1,000  on  apparatus  this  year,  and 
to  educate  free  one  year  in  the  institution  twenty 
children  of  Friends  who  have  suffered  from  the  war, 
selecting  the  most  suitable  ones. 

7.  The  Baltimore  Association  to  pay  the  salaries 
of  teachers  in  the  schools  and  furnish  books  and 
stationery.  North  Carolina  Friends  will  furnish 
school-houses,  board  the  teachers  and  provide  the  fuel. 

8.  Friends  who  are  able  are  to  pay  the  tuition 
of  their  children  and  provide  the  books. 

9.  Those  who  profess  with  us  are  to  enjoy  the 
same  privileges  as  members. 

10.  Those  not  Friends  are  to  pay  for  the  books 
and  tuition  of  their  children. 


WORK  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA        187 

11.  To  employ  teachers  by  the  month.  Our 
views  are  $5  to  $40  per  month,  according  to  the  size 
and  grade  of  the  school. 

12.  We  will  send  Bibles  and  tracts  for  the  First- 
day  schools  and  for  Bible  associations. 

The  above  were  the  rules  under  which  the 
association  began  its  work.  They  were  modified  as 
time  went  on  and  circumstances  changed.  The 
amount  of  money  given  to  the  boarding  school 
varied  each  year  as  the  situation  demanded. 

The  first  postoffice  near  which  we  located  was 
Greensboro.  We  changed  afterward  to  Bush  Hill 
(now  Archdale) .  We  fixed  up  one  of  the  downstairs 
bed-rooms  in  our  home  for  an  office,  where  all  the 
books  and  stationery  were  kept.  Our  home  was 
located  some  twenty-five  rods  from  the  old  Spring- 
field Meeting-house,  about  a  mile  from  the  post- 
office.  By  correspondence  I  generally  learned  what 
books  and  stationery  to  take  with  me  when  starting 
out  to  visit  the  schools  located  in  the  adjoining 
counties  of  Randolph,  Guilford,  Alamance,  Davison, 
Chatham,  etc.,  and  would  load  them  in  my  spring 
wagon.  For  those  schools  located  in  a  distant  part 
of  the  State  or  in  Tennessee,  I  would  ship  the  books 
and  stationery  by  railroad  and  then  go  myself  by 
public  conveyance. 

In  that  way  I  would  visit  schools  and  meetings 
in  the  eastern  and  western  parts  of  the  State  and 
cross  the  mountains  into  Tennessee  once  or  twice 
each  year  during  the  nine  years  I  was  in  North 
Carolina. 

These  visits  were  very  interesting  occasions. 
With  my  buggy  loaded  down,  I  would  start  out 
over   the   rough   roads   and   through   the   woods. 


188  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

During  the  war  but  little  attention  was  given  to 
repairing  the  roads.  If  a  tree  fell  down  across  the 
track  it  was  easier  to  drive  around  it  than  it  was  to 
cut  it  off  and  roll  it  out  of  the  way.  If  a  gully  was 
washed  across  the  road,  people  would  drive  around 
it  through  the  fields  or  through  the  woods  and  brush. 
In  time,  however,  I  became  familiar  with  the  roads 
in  the  territory  where  our  schools  were  located.  I 
learned  to  love  the  old  ways  and  old  places,  and  the 
localities  of  Friends  meetings  in  North  Carolina  and 
Tennessee  were  dear,  familiar  spots,  but  more  near  to 
my  heart  were  many  of  the  homes.  I  always  found 
a  warm  welcome  and  shared  with  them  the  best  they 
had. 

The  memory  of  those  fathers  and  mothers  with 
their  children  is  a  bright  spot  in  my  life.  Many  of 
those  humble  homes  were  oases  in  my  life's  joiuney. 
They  are  changed  now.  Those  children  are  the 
active  members  of  the  Church  to-day.  Three  years 
ago,  as  we  sat  on  the  platform  in  the  yearly  meeting 
I  said  to  my  wife,  "  I  think  I  have  had  nearly  half  of 
this  yearly  meeting  on  my  knee  when  they  were 
children."     The  memory  of  those  days  is  pleasant. 

Those  visit  swere  frequent  and  were  after  the 
fashion  of  the  Methodist  circuit  riders.  I  would  send 
an  appointment  on  before  me  to  the  effect  that  there 
would  be  an  educational  meeting  in  the  school- 
house  and  a  religious  meeting  in  the  meeting-house 
while  in  the  neighborhood.  All  were  invited  to 
attend  both  and  the  company  was  generally  large. 
Some  of  my  educational  lectures  would  be  amusing 
if  they  were  compared  with  the  lectures  of  the  present 
day.  The  variety  was  sufficient  to  do  away  with 
all  monotony.     Sometimes  my  talks  included  such 


WORK  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA      189 

profound  subjects  as  telling  the  young  men  that 
:^hey  shoiild  do  the  milking  rather  than  their  mothers 
any  sisters,  and  should  carry  in  the  wood ;  that  they 
should  let  mother  sit  down  at  the  table  when  there 
was  not  room  for  all ;  also  how  hurtful  was  the  use 
of  tobacco  They  included  telling  the  girls  to 
sweep  up  the  ashes  in  the  comers  of  the  fireplaces 
and  stand  the  broom  up  on  the  handle,  rather  than 
let  it  lie  on  the  floor.  I  tried  to  tell  them  how  they 
spoiled  their  looks  by  dipping  snuff.  Those  lectures 
were  not  in  vain.  Soon  the  time  came  when,  as  I 
went  into  a  schoolroom,  all  the  snuff  brushes  would 
disappear  and  the  boys'  tobacco  was  pushed  out  of 
sight. 

To-day  North  Carolina  is  among  the  leaders 
in  its  rules  forbidding  those  who  use  tobacco  in  any 
form  being  acknowledged  ministers  of  the  Gospel  or 
appointed  elders  or  overseers  in  the  Church,  and 
the  yearly  meeting  is  in  the  foremost  ranks  in  the 
great  temperance  movement  that  has  swept  over 
North  Carolina. 

Joseph  Moore,  who  preceded  me,  was  a  college 
man  and  this  reputation  went  before  him,  but  upon 
one  occasion  it  was  called  in  question  by  a  dear  old 
woman  Friend  who  heard  him  lecture.  She  said,  "  I 
don't  believe  he  has  college  lamin',  for  I  could 
imderstand  all  he  said."  My  educational  talks 
never  raised  a  suspicion  that  I  had  "college 
lamin'."  Yet  these  talks  were  times  when  we  got 
close  together  and  endeavored  to  strengthen  and 
bmld  up  the  schools,  the  neighborhood,  and  the  home; 
to  create  in  the  minds  of  the  yoimg  an  ambition  to 
aspire  to  higher  positions  in  the  educational  and 
religious  world. 


I90   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

Schools  of  the  Baltimore  Association 

Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  normal 
schools  that  were  held  each  summer  for  the  purpose 
of  training  teachers  in  methods  of  instruction.  The 
plan  was  to  bring  all  the  teachers  from  the  schools 
under  the  care  of  the  Baltimore  Association  together 
in  a  suitable  locality  and  train  them  for  the  work  of 
teaching.  This  work  resulted  in  great  good  to  the 
cause  of  education  in  the  State.  Other  teachers 
connected  with  schools  not  under  our  care  were  per- 
mitted to  attend,  thereby  introducing  the  normal 
training  in  the  State.  The  result  was  that  when  the 
time  came  for  oar  Society  to  give  up  this  normal 
training,  the  State  had  seen  its  good  effects  upon  the 
schools ;  so  that  it  established  a  normal  school,  which 
has  elevated  the  standard  of  teaching  in  North 
Carolina  and  other  places  in  the  South  that  have 
come  under  its  influence.  I  believe  it  is  not  claim- 
ing too  much  to  say  that  the  work  done  by  these 
normal  schools  was  the  beginning  of  an  awakening 
on  the  subject  of  education  that  has  been  far  reach- 
ing and  of  imtold  advantage  in  placing  the  educa- 
tional system  of  the  State  among  the  best. 

The  first  one  of  these  normal  schools  was  held  at 
Springfield  in  1866.  Joseph  Moore  had  charge  of  it. 
It  was  the  practice  to  give  practical  lessons  in  teach- 
ing, having  classes  in  the  various  studies  and  select- 
ing one  of  the  best  teachers  to  conduct  the  recita- 
tions, at  the  close  having  the  rest  criticise  the  method 
and  show  how  it  might  have  been  improved.  In  this 
way  all  the  branches  taught  were  brought  in  review. 
For  six  weeks  this  was  carried  on,  the  different 
teachers  being  called  upon  to  show  how  they  would 


WORK  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA      191 

conduct  classes  upon  various  subjects.  In  this 
practical  way  they  were  prepared  to  take  charge  of 
the  schools  under  their  care.  Much  attention  was 
given  to  composition,  writing,  reading,  and  spelling. 
The  moral  and  religious  training  was  not  overlooked. 
The  devotional  exercises  at  the  opening  in  the  morn- 
ing were  conducted  in  a  way  to  be  an  example  for 
the  teachers  in  their  schools,  and  were  led  by  different 
ones  of  the  teachers.  Then  in  the  middle  of  the 
week  all  attended  meeting  for  worship — another 
example  for  the  various  schools  throughout  the 
yearly  meeting;  and  it  is  pleasant  to  record  that  in 
our  morning  devotions,  as  well  as  in  our  midweek 
meetings  for  worship,  vocal  exercises  were  frequently 
heard  from  the  various  teachers,  giving  assurance 
that  such  would  be  the  case  in  their  schools  and  in 
the  meetings  where  their  scholars  attended.  This 
proved  to  be  the  result,  manifesting  itself  in  a 
great  increase  in  permanent  membership  in  the 
yearly  meeting. 

As  I  have  said,  the  first  of  these  schools  was  held 
for  six  weeks  at  Springfield.  It  was  largely  at- 
tended and  was  a  great  success.  The  second  was 
held  at  Deep  River  in  1867,  the  third  at  Springfield 
in  1868.  The  fourth,  in  1869,  and  the  fifth,  in  1870, 
were  also  held  at  Springfield.  The  sixth,  in  1871, 
was  held  at  Cane  Creek  and  was  large,  numbering 
over  one  hundred,  and  the  seventh,  in  1872,  at 
Springfield.  In  1873  and  1874,  the  eighth  and  ninth 
were  held  at  Greensboro,  in  Benbow  Hall,  the  one 
in  1874  being  the  last  one  held  under  the  supervision 
of  the  Baltimore  Association.  The  work  was  then 
turned  over  to  the  control  of  North  Carolina  Yearly 
Meeting,    the   association   retiring    from    the   field 


192   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

except  for  giving  a  little  financial  assistance  to  the 
boarding-school  and  a  few  other  special  institutions. 

It  was  the  practice  to  invite  well  known  persons 
and  those  who  wovdd  a  good  influence,  to  deliver 
lectures  before  these  normals,  at  which  times  the 
public  was  generally  invited.  Among  those  whom 
I  remember  as  addressing  us  were  Judge  Robert 
P.  Dick,  Dr.  Nereus  Mendenhall,  Governor  Jonathan 
Worth,  Dr.  Braxton  Craven,  Marcus  L.  Wood, 
Francis  T.  King,  Samuel  Collins,  Calvin  H.  Wiley, 
Professor  Palmer,  Harry  Hardee,  New  York;  Judge 
Turgee,  author  of  "Fool's  Errand,"  and  others 
whom  I  fail  to  call  to  mind  at  present.  Some  of 
these  spoke  to  us  several  times.  In  this  way  the 
work    was  kept  before  the  public. 

Some  of  these  occasions  were  special  times  of 
pleasant  remembrance.  During  the  Normal  School 
at  Springfield,  in  1869,  occurred  the  remarkable 
eclipse  of  the  sun,  which  was  nearly  total.  Joseph 
Moore  had  come  down  from  Earlham  to  be  with  us, 
and  we  also  had  Eli  and  Mahalah  Jay  with  us.  The 
word  had  been  given  out  that  we  would  have  a  picnic 
dinner  in  the  grove  and  that  at  the  proper  time 
Joseph  Moore  would  give  a  lecture  on  astronomy 
and  explain  the  cause  of  the  eclipse.  It  was  believed 
that  there  were  i  ,500  people  present.  When  we  had 
finished  our  dinner  and  the  time  was  drawing  near 
for  the  eclipse  to  begin  we  adjourned  to  an  open  field 
on  the  model  farm  near  by,  and  there,  standing  on  a 
wagon  with  the  crowd  around  him,  for  some  time  he 
explained  the  natural  phenomenon  we  were  about  to 
witness.  When  the  time  approached,  he  pulled  out 
bis  watch,  which  he  had  taken  pains  to  have  correct, 
and  said,  "  Now  in  the  next  five  minutes  we  will  see 


WORK  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA        193 

the  shadow  begin, "  and  told  us  where  it  would  begin. 
As  they  looked  through  their  smoked  glasses  and  saw 
the  shadow,  there  was  a  solemn  hush,  as  something 
like  awe  came  over  the  crowd.  It  went  on  until 
there  was  a  complete  annular  eclipse,  there  being 
only  a  small,  bright  rim  visible.  He  continued  to 
explain  the  subject  of  eclipses  until  it  was  all  over 
and  the  sun  assumed  its  normal  appearance.  At 
the  greatest  obscurity  there  was  a  damp  and  chilly 
feeling  in  the  air  and  some  of  the  chickens  in  the 
neighborhood  began  hunting  for  their  roosting 
places. 

Another  incident  connected  with  the  Normal 
School  session  in  1870  was  the  presentation  to 
me  by  the  teachers  and  scholars  of  the  Normal 
School  of  a  very  large  Bible.  It  took  place  at 
the  close  of  the  term,  after  I  had  made  my  closing 
remarks  and  was  about  to  dismiss  the  company. 
Hearing  a  little  noise,  I  looked  around  and  saw  a 
committee  coming  from  an  adjoining  room  bringing 
this  Bible,  with  the  inscription  on  it,  "  Presented  to 
Allen  Jay  by  the  Normal  School  held  at  Springfield, 
North  Carolina,  1870."  One  of  the  teachers  had 
been  selected  to  make  the  presentation  speech,  which 
he  did  very  nicely  and  then  left  me  to  make  reply, 
which  I  endeavored  to  do.  The  presentation  being 
a  surprise,  my  reply  was  rather  awkwardly  worded 
and  poorly  delivered,  but  I  hope  I  succeeded  in 
making  it  plain  that  I  thoroughly  appreciated  the 
motive  and  accepted  the  gift  in  the  spirit  in  which  it 
was  given.  I  have  just  been  looking  at  it  and  living 
in  memory  the  scenes  of  that  afternoon  at  old  Spring- 
field. There  have  been  great  changes  since  then  in 
that  company, 

13 


194  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

The  Bible-School  Work 

While  giving  attention  to  the  schools  for  advanc- 
ing  secular  education,  the  association  was  equally- 
concerned  to  promote  the  moral  and  religious  educa- 
tion of  the  teachers  and  scholars.     It  was  the  aim 
to  have  a  Bible  school  in  each  meeting,  and  in  order 
that  there  might  be  a  sufficient  number  of  teachers 
for  these  and  those  who  could  carry  them  on  and 
make   a  success,  there   were   established   what   we 
called  Bible  or  First-day  School  Associations,  which 
were  held  for  several  days  in  convenient  centers.     To 
these  were  invited  all  who  could  attend,  and  classes 
were  taught  from  the  Bible.     I^essons  were  selected  * 
from  the  Scriptures  that  would  give  practical  illus- 
trations of  how  to  teach.    Proper  persons   were  ob- 
tained to  lecture  on  the  Bible  and  Bible  teaching,  the 
geography  of  the  Bible,  the  history  of  the  Bible  and 
various  subjects  connected  with  religious  teaching, 
such  as  "  Bible  Lands"  and  the  customs  and  manners 
of  the  times  of  our  Saviour,  lectures  on  Bible  schools 
and  the  methods  of  teaching.     Sometimes  two  or 
three  were  held  during  the  year.     Some  of  the  places 
thus  visited  were  New  Garden,  Deep  River,  Spring- 
field, Centre,  Providence,  Cane  Creek,  Spring,  Back 
Creek,  Marlboro,  Goldboro,  Rich  Square,  and  other 
places.     Indeed,  it  was  the  wish  to  hold  them  all 
through  the  yearly  meeting.     Some  of  those  who 
were  invited  to  be  with  us  and  to  help  in  conducting 
them,  outside  of  our  own  workers,  were  F.  T.  King, 
from  Baltimore ;  Robert  Lindley  Murray,  Ruth  Mur- 
ray,  Sarah  Tabor,   Ellen  Congdon,   Anna  Tatum, 
and  Thomas  W.  Ladd  of  New  York,  and  many  others. 
These  were  present  and  were  a  help,  adding  a  pleasing 


WORK  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA       195 

interest  to  those  occasions.  Indeed,  the  coming  of 
these  dear  Friends  was  looked  forward  to  with  much 
pleasure  by  a  large  number  who  had  learned  to  love 
them  for  their  devoted  labor  and  the  sunshine  and 
gladness  which  they  scattered  in  their  pathway. 

Some  of  those  experiences  are  pleasant  to  remem- 
ber to  this  day.  One  morning  we  left  our  home  at 
Springfield  for  Cane  Creek.  There  were  three  men 
and  four  women  of  us  in  an  old  army  ambulance 
that  General  Sherman  had  left  at  the  time  of  the  sur- 
render at  Greensboro.  We  had  three  horses  hitched 
to  it  and  William  A.  Sampson,  the  model  farmer, 
was  our  driver.  That  afternoon  we  had  a  meeting 
at  Providence,  stayed  all  night  at  John  White's  and 
next  morning  went  on  our  journey.  Towards  noon 
we  came  to  a  beautiful  spring  by  the  roadside,  with 
plenty  of  green  grass  and  good  shade  under  the 
spreading  boughs  of  the  oak  trees.  We  spread  our 
wraps  out  on  the  ground,  built  a  fire,  himg  on  the 
tea-kettle,  got  out  our  meat,  vegetables,  bread,  cake, 
pickles,  pies,  lemons,  oranges,  sugar,  etc.,  which  had 
been  provided  by  the  good  women  before  leaving 
home.  When  we  had  gathered  round  this  lovely  din- 
ner and  vocal  blessing  was  invoked  amid  the  singing 
of  birds,  I  believe  every  heart  was  thankful.  We 
lingered  long  in  that  spot  and  left  with  reluctant 
looks  when  time  reminded  us  that  we  must  proceed. 
In  my  rounds  I  frequently  passed  the  place  after- 
wards, never  without  thinking  of  that  company,  all 
of  whom  have  passed  beyond  except  myself.  But 
I  now  leave  these  Nonnal  Schools,  both  in  the  secular 
and  Bible  schools,  and  turn  to  the  teachers  and  the 
work  resulting  from  this  intellectual,  moral  and 
religious  training. 


Chapter  XXI 
SOME  OF  THE  TEACHERS  AND  MINISTERS 

The  Teachers  of  the  Baltimore  Association 

Our  teachers  were  selected  from  the  members  of 
North  Carolina  Yearly  Meeting  who  had  been  to 
New  Garden  Boarding-School  and  who  had  had  some 
experience  in  teaching  the  country  schools  before  the 
war.  We  had  others  who  were  brought  from  the 
North  and  West.  When  the  schools  had  reached 
their  largest  number,  there  were  some  sixty  teachers 
under  the  care  of  the  Association.  It  was  the  duty 
of  the  superintendent  to  look  after  them,  assigning 
them  to  their  various  schools,  find  boarding  places 
for  them,  and  see  that  books  and  stationery  were  sup- 
plied. It  was  also  his  duty  to  see  that  everything 
was  running  smoothly  between  the  teachers  and  the 
patrons  of  the  schools.  It  required  care  always  to 
get  the  right  one  in  the  right  place.  These  assign- 
ments were  generally  made  at  the  close  of  the  Normal 
School,  so  that  when  the  teachers  returned  home  they 
knew  where  their  next  year's  work  was  to  be  done. 
No  Methodist  bishop  ever  had  a  more  loyal  set  of 
workers  to  assign  to  their  fields  of  service.  They 
were  willing  to  leave  the  matter  to  the  superin- 
tendent and  many  times  did  not  even  inquire  what 
the  salary  would  be.  Indeed,  in  looking  back  to  the 
loyalty  and  devotion  of  those  dear  teachers  I  do 
not  wonder  that  the  work  was  greatly  blessed 

(196) 


TEACHERS  AND  MINISTERS         197 

It  could  not  be  otherwise.  It  is  hard  to  resist  the 
desire  to  mention  their  names,  for  I  feel  that  North 
Carolina  Yearly  Meeting  owes  more  to  those  devoted 
and  self-sacrificing  teachers  than  it  is  aware  of.  Only 
the  fear  of  omitting  some  who  should  be  mentioned 
keeps  me  from  giving  a  detailed  list  of  the  Blairs, 
the  Henleys,  the  Farlows,  the  Dixons,  the  Englishes, 
Tomlinsons,  Davises,  Worths,  Fraziers,  Whites, 
Pettys,  Hodginses,  Benbows,  Starbucks,  Menden- 
halls,  Wilsons  and  others  of  the  South ;  and  from  the 
North,  the  Headers,  Steeres,  Hollingsworths  and 
Clarks — all  dear  names  to  those  of  us  who  were  in 
the  field.  Here  I  want  to  say,  what  I  have  long  felt 
in  regard  to  the  growth  of  North  Carolina  Yearly 
Meeting,  that  this  growth  was  due  to  the  faithful- 
ness of  those  teachers  as  much  as  to  the  ministers, 
for  at  the  close  of  the  war  there  were  few  active 
members  of  the  yearly  meeting  who  were  acknowl- 
edged ministers. 

The  Ministers  of  North  Carolina  Tearly  Meeting  at 
the  Close  of  the  War 

Isham  Cox,  with  gray  hairs  and  old-fashioned 
saddle-bags,  was  a  familiar  picture  riding  around 
over  the  State,  visiting  the  meetings,  doing  a  good 
work,  and  preaching  a  gospel  of  good  cheer.  He  was 
faithful  in  exercising  his  gift.  His  labors  were 
blessed  to  the  Church.  In  the  eastern  portion  was 
Dr.  William  Nicholson,  with  his  strong  and  clear 
ministry,  leading  his  hearers  to  a  deeper  and  fuller 
understanding  of  the  Gospel  message.  In  the  same 
locality  was  Ellen  Nicholson,  with  her  feeble  body, 
but  filled  with  the  Spirit  of  her  Master  and  fully  con- 


198   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

secrated  to  His  service.     Her  ministry  was  on  the 
prophetic  order  and  was  blessed  to  many.     In  addi- 
tion to  these  there  were  few  who  were  actively  en- 
gaged in  the  field.     Daniel  and  Seth  Barker  were 
growing  old  and  could  not  engage  in  much  active 
service.     Albert  Peele  was  a  rising  young  minister 
who  has  given  a  good  account  of  himself  and  is  still 
active  in  proclaiming  the  Gospel  message.     Many 
have  been  blessed  by  his  ministry.     Besides  these, 
there  were  a  few  others  who  were  old  and  feeble  and 
rarely  went  from  home.     Yet  their  prayers  held  up 
the  hands  of  those  actively  engaged.    How  few  were 
these  compared  with  the  multitudes  that  they  had  to 
meet.     Here  were  about  2,200  members  scattered 
over  North  Carolina  from  the  eastern  coast  to  the 
western  end  among  the  mountains  and  across  them 
into  eastern  Tennessee  and  down   into  the  region 
of   Knoxville,   Maryville   and   Friendsville.     Surely 
they  were  separated  far  from  each  other  upon  the 
walls.     The  line  of  battle  was  long  drawn  out.     In 
addition  to  all  this  they  had  just^  passed  through  a 
four  years '  war,  had  been  stripped  of  their  property 
and  left  destitute.     Their  meetings  had  been  small 
during  that  time  and  many  of  them  held  under  try- 
ing circumstances.     I  will  here  insert  a  description 
of  a  meeting  hejd  in  Virginia  during  the  war.     It 
was  written  by  Susan  Walker,  a  member  of  the  meet- 
ing, and  read  before  a  literary  society  at  Earlham 
College  during  the  winter  of  1862-63,  she  being  a  stu- 
dent at  Earlham  at  that  time.     Perhaps  many  sim- 
ilar experiences  were  passed  through  by  meetings  in 
North  Carolina  Yearly  Meeting. 


TEACHERS  AND  MINISTERS         199 

A  Quaker  Meeting  in  Dixie 

It  was  a  bright  morning  in  the  winter  of  i86r 
when  the  Friends  of  Fairfax  Meeting  began  to  as- 
semble at  the  usual  hour  around  the  old  stone  meet- 
ing-house.    Great  was  their  surprise  upon  arriving 
there  to  find  that  it  was  occupied  by  two  companies 
of  Confederate  cavalry  that  had  encamped  there 
during  the  previous  night.     Some  of  the  oldest  and 
most  influential  men  Friends  immediately  sought  out 
the  captains  and  told  them  of  their  situation,  that  the 
house  was  their  place  of  worship  and  that  there  had 
not  been  a  meeting  missed  there  for  over  one  hun- 
dred years,  and  if  the  arrangements  could  possibly 
be  made  they  would  be  obliged  for  the  use  of  the 
house  for  at  least  two  hours.     At  first  the  officer 
thought  it  would  be  impossible,  but  after  some  con- 
sultation  concluded   that   the   building   was   large 
enough  for  them  all  and  said  if  the  Friends  would 
wait  a  while  they  could  make  some  room  for  them. 
So  the  women  sat  in  the  carriages  while  the  men  en- 
tered the  house  and  assisted  the  soldiers  to  place  their 
bedding  and  baggage  to  one  side.     The  partition  was 
soon  closed  and  those  of  the  soldiers  who  did  not 
wish  to  attend  the  meeting  were  sent  into  the  other 
side  of  the  house.     However,  almost  all  had  a  curi- 
osity to  be  present,  having  heard  of  Quaker  meetings. 
When  the  members  entered  the  scenes  presented 
there  were  strange  ones  for  the  interior  of  a  Friends 
meeting-house,  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  solemnity 
of  the  occasion  would  have  been  truly  amusing.     The 
old  ladies  ascended  the  steps  into  the  gallery  and  took 
their  seats,  though  rather  daintily,  as  arms  were 
stacked  behind  them  and  muskets  and  swords  stored 


200   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

away  beneath  the  benches.  In  one  comer  of  the 
room  the  "stars  and  bars"  were  unfurled.  In  an 
opposite  one  was  a  large  fireplace  with  a  blazing  fire, 
over  which  was  roasting  a  large  turkey,  and  some 
hominy  cooking.  Overcoats  were  hanging  all  about. 
Knapsacks  and  saddles  were  strewn  around,  while 
a  suppressed  titter  or  an  amused  whisper  of  some  of 
the  more  mischievous  soldiers  regarding  the  peculiar 
shape  of  the  plain  bonnets  could  be  distinctly  heard. 
But  when  all  were  seated  it  was  perfectly  quiet,  and 
when  an  aged  and  feeble  lady  rose  every  countenance 
wore  a  thoughtful  aspect  and  each  attentively 
listened  to  her  words  of  truth  and  love.  When  she 
rose  to  invoke  a  blessing  on  the  little  band  there 
assembled,  she  also  prayed  that  the  wings  of  peace 
might  be  spread  over  our  once  prosperous  and  happy 
land,  and  for  the  strangers  that  were  that  day  gath- 
ered in  their  midst,  until  load  sobs  broke  from  strong 
men  and  great  tears  forced  themselves  down  their 
sun-burned  cheeks.  After  the  meeting  many  of  them 
expressed  their  gratification  at  having  been  allowed 
to  assemble  with  the  members  and  said  they  hoped 
to  have  another  opportunity.  Of  course,  the  Friends 
were  not  desirous  that  they  should  remain  in  the 
house,  but  invited  them  to  attend  their  meetings 
whenever  they  felt  inclined.  Since  that  day  there 
have  been  many  assemblings  for  worship  in  the  same 
room  and  amidst  the  same  military  surroundings. 
They  have  been  mostly  solemn  and  impressive,  but 
very  different  from  our  nice,  quiet  little  ones  here  at 
Earlham.  Those  who  have  not  been  surrounded  by 
war  and  its  attendant  horrors  know  but  poorly  how 
to  appreciate  the  almost  perfect  peace  and  tran- 
quillity that  reigns  here.     I  hope  never  again  to  hear 


TEACHERS  AND  MINISTERS         201 

the  familiar  sotind  of  the  booming  of  camion  or  the 
noise  of  musketry,  and  that  ere  I  return  to  the  Blue 
Ridge  Hills  of  my  native  state  they  will  have  passed 
forever  from  our  land. 

The  Fruits  and  Lessons  of  the  Work 

Our  dear  Friends  in  the  limits  of  North  Carolina 
Yearly  Meeting  had  their  full  share  of  these  difficul- 
ties, as  they  were  located  in  that  part  of  the  State 
where  Johnston's  and  Sherman's  armies  passed  in 
the  closing  years  of  the  war.  Their  meetings  were 
mostly  held  in  silence,  as  there  were  but  few  min- 
isters belonging  to  the  yearly  meeting.  Their  num- 
bers were  very  few  and  scattered  over  a  long  dis- 
tance, and  yet  we  saw  this  little  number,  without 
much  noise  or  any  great  show,  grow  in  a  few  years 
from  2,200  in  1866  to  5,500  in  1876,  and  it  has  con- 
tinued to  grow  until  now  the  figures  have  nearly 
reached  7,000,  and  that  notwithstanding  the  fact 
that  they  have  set  off  the  Friends  in  Tennessee  to 
join  Wilmington  Yearly  Meeting  in  Ohio.  It  shoxald 
also  be  borne  in  mind  that  this  increase  has  not  been 
helped  by  Friends  moving  from  other  yearly  meetings 
into  its  limits,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  some  of  oiu" 
Western  yearly  meetings  have  been  strengthened  by 
members  of  North  Carolina  moving  to  them. 

There  is  another  fact  that  I  wish  to  impress 
upon  my  readers.  There  has  not  been  the  back- 
sliding in  that  yearly  meeting  that  there  has 
been  in  some  others.  If  we  look  over  the  church 
papers  for  the  last  forty  years  and  sum  up  the  num- 
ber who  have  been  recorded  as  converted  in  the 
revivals  and  who  have  joined  the  Chiu"ch,  we  should 
expect  in  the  place  of  five  or  six   thousand   they 


202   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

would  have  ten  or  twenty  thousand.  In  others, 
instead  of  ten  or  fifteen  thousand,  they  should  have, 
according  to  revival  figures,  thirty  or  forty  thousand ; 
and  then  when  we  hear  some  one  of  our  revivalists 
state  how  many  thousands  have  been  converted 
tmder  their  ministry,  we  pause  and  exclaim,  "  Where 
are  they  to-day?"  I  am  not  condemning  revival 
work,  but  rejoice  that  I  have  had  a  little  hand  in  it 
myself  and  can  call  to  mind  some  who  claim  that 
they  found  the  Saviour  under  my  ministry  during 
some  revival  work.  But  in  view  of  these  figures, 
which  are  stubborn  things  and  cannot  be  denied,  is 
there  not  room  to  fear  that  there  has  been  a  fault  in 
our  revival  methods  or  in  the  shepherding  care  of  the 
Church?  Perhaps  a  future  historian  may  see  a 
weakness  in  both  the  evangelist  and  the  Church. 

In  the  building  up  of  North  Carolina  Yearly 
Meeting,  which  I  regard  as  one  of  the  greatest  works 
of  the  Society  of  Friends  in  the  last  hundred  years, 
there  is  a  lesson  that  I  wish  to  impress  upon  the 
workers  in  other  yearly  meetings. ,  Here  were  some 
sixty  or  more  teachers,  all  Christians,  sent  out  into 
the  various  meetings,  requested  to  open  their  schools 
with  devotional  exercises  every  morning,  encouraged 
to  organize  Bible  schools  and  take  the  superin- 
tendency  of  the  same  unless  a  more  suitable  person 
could  be  found;  they  were  impressed  with  the  im- 
portance of  being  faithful  in  their  meeting  for  wor- 
ship in  vocal  prayer  and  testimony,  and,  above  all, 
to  visit  the  sick,  hunt  up  the  poor  children  and  get 
them  into  school  and  under  their  religious  instruc- 
tion. This  was  a  work  that  was  done  with  no 
flourish  of  trumpets.  Often  have  I  heard  of  .some 
heroic  deeds  done  by  these  young  teachers,  deeds 


TEACHERS  AND  MINISTERS  203 

that  were  done  only  for  the  Master's  eye  to  see. 
Some  of  these  have  passed  on  and  perhaps  they  were 
surprised  to  hear  Him  say,  "  I  was  sick  and  in  prison 
and  ye  visited  me,  enter  ye  into  the  joy  of  your  Lord." 

With  the  blessing  of  the  Lord  upon  the 
labor  of  these  dear  teachers,  the  monthly  meet- 
ings began  to  receive  members,  a  family  at  a  time, 
sometimes  two  or  three  families.  Sometimes  the 
children  in  the  school  led  their  parents  into  the 
church.  Other  families  were  impressed  by  the  silent 
and  patient  suffering  of  the  Friends  during  the  war. 
In  some  cases  the  women  and  children  of  those 
who  were  not  Friends  would  come  and  sit  with 
Friends  in  their  silent  meetings  while  their  hus- 
bands, fathers,  and  sons  were  in  the  army.  Thev 
found  something  in  those  meetings  which  strength- 
ened them  in  the  time  of  sorrow,  and  when  the  war 
was  over  they  joined  the  Church  where  they  had 
found  help  in  those  dark  hours.  Another  feature  of 
this  work  was  that  it  went  on  harmoniously  and 
they  did  not  have  the  religious  controveries  on 
doctrinal  points  that  have  occurred  in  some  other 
yearly  meetings.  Where  these  things  have  been 
introduced  it  has  been  done  by  those  coming 
from  outside. 

Theolof^ical  hair- splitting  and  fanatical  ex- 
tremes were  never  created  by  the  kind  of  work  that 
has  been  described  above.  Where  the  mind  is 
trained  along  with  the  emotions,  where  brain  and 
heart  are  educated  in  unison,  such  things  do  not  take 
place.  The  sad  result  comes  where  one  is  developed 
to  the  neglect  of  the  other.  The  narrow  and  un- 
trained mind  runs  off  upon  hobbies  and  extremes. 
Our  fathers  were  right  when  they  labored  for  a  re- 


204  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

ligious  and  guarded  education.  They  builded  well 
when  they  placed  the  monthly  meeting  school-house 
along  by  the  side  of  the  meeting-house.  I  have  dwelt 
thus  upon  this  revival  work  of  the  Baltimore  Associa- 
tion in  building  up  North  Carolina  Yearly  Meeting 
because  there  is  a  lesson  in  it  that  some  of  the  other 
yearly  meetings  will  do  well  to  study,  and  I  also  feel 
a  desire  to  honor  the  memory  of  those  silent  workers, 
who  patiently  labored  day  after  day,  walking 
through  the  cold  and  wet,  some  of  them  building 
the  fires  in  the  school-house,  sweeping  out  the 
room,  visiting  the  children  in  their  homes  and 
speaking  a  word  of  comfort  to  the  parents.  Another 
generation  has  arisen  and  I  fear  if  I  did  not  say 
these  words  thev  never  would  be  said. 


Chapter  XXII 
REVIVAL  WORK  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Let  it  not  be  inferred  from  the  foregoing  that 
there  was  no  evangelistic  work  done  in  the  shape 
of  the  old-favshioned  revival  meetings.  There  was 
more  or  less  of  that  kind  of  work  done  by  different 
ones.  As  has  been  said,  I  took  part  in  some  of 
that  kind  of  labor  which  was  blessed,  but  always 
with  the  feeling  that  it  should  never  be  carried  fur- 
ther than  the  leaders  of  the  meeting  could  go  with 
me.  I  have  always  felt  that  a  separation  in  a  meet- 
ing on  that  accotmt  in  the  end  was  fruitful  of  more 
evil  than  good. 

Upon  returning  home  one  morning  from  New 
York,  where  I  had  been  soliciting  funds  for  our 
work,  my  wife  met  me  at  the  station,  and  as  we 
rode  home  she  told  me  that  the  Methodists  were 
holding  a  revival  meeting  at  Trinity  College,  some 
three  miles  from  Springfield,  and  that  some  of  our 
young  Friends  had  gone  to  the  mourners'  bench  and 
professed  conversion,  and  that  some  of  the  parents 
had  forbidden  their  children  to  go,  but  that  the 
young  people  and  some  who  were  older  had  gone  in 
spite  of  the  coimsels  of  the  older  people.  She  feared 
we  would  have  trouble  in  the  meeting.  I  tried  to 
learn  what  was  right  for  me  to  do.  In  the  evening 
I  hitched  up  the  horse,  and  when  my  wife  asked 
me  where  I  was  going,  I  told  her  to  the  revival. 
She  expressed  fears  for  the  result,  but  told  me  if 

(«©s) 


2o6   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

I  went  she  would  go  with  me.  My  object  was  to 
save  our  young  people  to  our  own  church.  When 
we  went  in  and  took  our  seats  in  the  back  part  of 
the  room,  the  leader  of  the  meeting  came  to  us  and 
expressed  great  surprise  and  yet  great  joy  in  seeing 
us  there  and  insisted  that  I  should  come  and  sit  by 
him  on  the  platform,  which  I  did.  Looking  over 
the  congregation  I  perceived  whispering  and  looking 
at  me.  Our  young  people  were  much  pleased.  At 
the  close  we  endeavored  to  shake  hands  with  all 
of  our  young  Friends  and  told  them  we  wanted  them 
to  remain  with  us.  I  attended  the  meetings  for  two 
weeks  and  took  such  part  as  I  felt  was  right,  and 
had  the  promise  of  each  one  of  our  young  Friends 
who  had  been  converted  that  they  would  remain 
members  with  us. 

A  similar  revival  service  was  held  about  the  same 
time  in  Caraway  school-house  near  by.  The  closing 
meeting  was  held  in  the  forenoon,  and  one  of  our 
young  Friends  came  to  me  weeping  and  saying, 
"  I  dread  to  go  home,  for  my  parents  are  much 
displeased  because  I  have  attended  these  meetings." 
She  had  been  staying  with  a  friend  who  lived  near  by 
where  the  meetings  were  held.  I  told  her  to  go  and 
get  her  things  and  we  would  take  her  home,  as  we 
passed  by  there.  When  we  approached  the  house 
the  father  was  standing  in  the  door.  I  took  her 
by  the  arm  and  said,  "Thy  child  left  home  un- 
saved. She  now  returns  a  child  of  Christ,  and  in  His 
name  I  ask  thee  to  receive  her. "  At  this  she  threw 
her  arms  around  his  neck  and  weeping,  said,  "  I  love 
Jesus. "  All  opposition  fled,  and  when  all  had  sat 
down,  I  led  in  prayer  and  then  spoke.  She  then 
told  what  the  Lord  had  done  for  her,  and  before 


REVIVALS  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA    207 

closing  an  older  sister  accepted  the  Saviour.  Before 
leaving  the  State  we  saw  the  whole  family  converted, 
and  one  is  now  a  recorded  minister. 

The  next  day  was  our  preparative  meeting.  At 
the  close  I  told  Friends  what  I  had  been  doing, 
and  that  a  number  of  their  children  were  so  under 
deep  conviction  that  I  believed  it  would  be  right  for 
us  to  hold  some  meetings  in  our  meeting-house, 
if  they  were  willing.  Several  leaders  gave  their 
consent,  and  a  meeting  was  announced  for  that  night. 
It  was  largely  attended,  and  a  deep  feeling  came 
over  all.  The  next  night,  at  the  close  of  the  speak- 
ing, a  young  man  came  up  and  knelt  down  by  me, 
and  in  deep  contrition  asked  me  to  pray  for  him. 
The  next  night  three  came  forward  without  any 
invitation,  thus  establishing  an  altar  of  prayer 
without  any  action  on  my  part.  But  the  climax 
was  reached  on  the  third  or  fourth  night,  when 
some  one  broke  out  singing.  My  wife  came  to  me 
and  asked  me  to  stop  it.  My  reply  was,  "I  did 
not  start  it  and  I  shall  not  stop  it. "  I  remembered 
how  a  few  years  before,  in  Illinois,  a  Christian  young 
woman  stood  up  to  sing  a  hymn,  and  as  she  sang 
with  the  tears  running  down  her  face,  an  elder 
sitting  by  my  side  rose  and  harshly  ordered  her  to 
stop,  saying,  "  It  is  a  Friends  meeting  and  we  won't 
have  singing."  At  the  close  he  spoke  to  me  about 
it.  I  simply  said,  "  I  have  nothing  to  say  about 
the  singing,  but  it  was  very  evident  that  thee  was  out 
of  humor  when  thee  spoke  to  that  dear  child,  and  I 
leave  thee  to  settle  it  with  Him  who  knoweth  all 
things,  as  she  is  undoubtedly  one  of  His  children. " 
Two  days  afterwards,  when  I  sat  down  after  speak- 
ing, he  rose  and  stood,  weeping  so  he  could  be  heard 


2o8   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

all  over  the  house,  and  then  in  broken  sentences 
said,  "  You  saw  and  heard  what  I  did  the  other  day 
and  I  cannot  rest  day  or  night.  The  only  way  to 
find  peace  is  to  try  and  sing  a  hymn  myself,  and 
I  do  not  know  how. "  Poor  man,  he  made  the  effort. 
It  was  poorly  done.  The  whole  congregation  was 
weeping  with  him.  At  the  close  of  the  service 
the  young  woman  whom  he  had  sat  down  came  to 
him  and  said,  "  I  forgive  you."  From  that  day  to 
this  it  has  been  a  serious  matter  for  me  to  ask  any 
one  to  sit  down.  I  do  not  say  but  that  it  may  be 
right  sometimes,  but  let  it  be  done  with  care  and 
in  the  right  spirit. 

Our  meeting  went  on  for  ten  days,  growing  larger 
and  a  number  professed  to  be  saved.  One  day,  at  the 
close  of  our  weekday  meeting,  the  elders  gathered 
together  in  the  meeting-house  yard,  and  I  could 
hear  them  talking,  for  the  dear  friend  who  sat  at 
the  head  of  our  meeting,  A.  U.  Tomlinson,  was 
hard  of  hearing,  and  in  telling  him  what  had  hap- 
pened they  had  to  speak  loud.  They  told  him  of 
the  singing  and  of  the  altar  of  prayer  and  that 
there  had  been  some  excitement,  etc.  He  listened 
until  they  were  done.  Then  he  said,  "  Friends,  my 
yoimgest  son  came  home  last  night  from  the  meeting 
here,  came  to  his  mother  and  myself  and  told  us 
he  had  given  his  heart  to  God  and  that  he  wanted 
us  to  forgive  him  for  the  way  he  had  lived  and 
that  he  was  determined  to  live  a  different  life. 
Now,  if  any  of  you  want  to  lay  your  hands  on  these 
meetings,  you  can  do  so,  but  I  am  going  home." 
And  he  started  down  the  path.  Soon  they  were  all 
gone,  much  to  the  relief  of  my  mind,  for  I  had 
decided  if  they  requested  me  to  close  the  meetings 


REVIVALS  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA    209 

I  would  do  so  without  any  complaint,  for  I  had  that 
early  in  my  religious  work  decided  to  work  in  har- 
mony with  the  Church,  and  after  fifty  years '  active 
work  in  the  ministry  have  never  seen  cause  to  change 
my  mind.  I  do  not  believe  the  cause  of  Christ  is 
advanced  by  pushing  in  innovations  or  change  of 
practice  faster  than  the  weight  and  religious  sen- 
timent of  the  meeting  is  able  to  go.  For  if  this  is 
done  separations  are  sometimes  brought  about  and 
bitter  feelings  are  engendered  and  things  said  and 
done  that  are  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  the  Master. 
Our  meetings  closed  a  few  days  afterwards,  and  we 
kept  all  of  our  members  and  added  some  thirty 
new  ones  to  our  meeting. 

The  Revival  at  High  Point 

The  morning  we  closed,  some  five  or  six  ministers 
of  other  churches  from  High  Point  came  in.  We 
invited  them  to  our  house  to  dinner.  While  eating, 
one  of  them  wished  to  know  why  they  could  not 
have  a  revival  in  their  town.  I  knew  their  condition. 
There  was  a  prejudice  towards  each  other,  and 
while  they  each  had  small  congregations,  they  would 
not  unite  in  religious  work.  I  told  them  plainly 
that  they  never  could  while  they  were  fighting  each 
other  and  would  not  go  into  each  other's  meetings. 
Finally  the  pastor  of  the  Southern  Methodist  Church 
said,  "  Brother  Jay,  if  you  will  come  and  hold  a 
meeting,  we  will  all  join  in  and  help."  After  some 
conversation  it  was  agreed  that  we  would  begin  on 
the  next  First-day  night,  and  we  selected  the  house 
that  would  hold  the  most  people,  which  was  the 
Southern  Methodist  Church,  to  hold  the  meeting  in. 
They  insisted  that  I  should  do  the  preaching  of 

14 


210  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

nights,  saying  there  wovild  be  no  prejudice  against 
me  as  we  had  no  church  in  the  place,  and  they  would 
hold  a  prayer-meeting  during  the  day,  visit  the  homes 
and  try  to  get  the  people  out.  They  also  agreed 
to  look  after  the  singing,  etc.,  all  of  which  I  am  glad 
to  say  they  carried  out  in  the  right  spirit.  The 
result  was  that  I  preached  for  thirty-one  nights. 
The  house  was  soon  full  to  overflowing,  and  some 
one  hundred  and  fifty  professed  to  have  found  their 
Saviour  in  the  pardon  of  their  sins.  The  whole 
town  was  shaken  and  many  prayer-meetings  were 
held  in  the  homes  during  the  day.  At  the  close 
the  converts  joined  the  churches  according  to 
their  own  personal  wishes.  Notwithstanding  the  fact 
that  we  had  no  meeting  in  the  town,  about  fifty 
wished  to  join  us  and  their  names  were  placed  on  the 
roll  at  Springfield,  which  was  fully  two  miles  away. 
To-day  one  of  the  strongest  meetings  of  the  yearly 
meeting  is  located  at  High  Point,  in  a  fine  stone 
building. 

A  circumstance  happened  during  this  series  of 
meetings,  and  I  tell  it,  trusting  it  may  do  no  harm. 
From  day  to  day,  as  my  mind  was  on  the  meetings 
at  night,  more  than  usual  I  was  favored  to  get  hold 
of  a  text  and  see  something  of  the  line  of  discourse 
that  it  would  be  right  for  me  to  follow  at  the  meeting 
that  night.  But  one  day,  near  the  close,  my  mind 
was  a  blank.  Look  over  the  Bible  as  I  would, 
nothing  took  hold  of  my  mind.  Indeed,  I  felt  as 
though  I  had  never  preached  and  never  would 
again.  Never  had  I  felt  such  spiritual  poverty. 
There  was  no  life  in  any  subject.  I  told  my  wife  I 
could  not  preach  that  night.  "  But  they  will  ex- 
pect thee  to  do  so."     "Well,  I  can't,  and  that's 


S 
O 

c 
r 

XT. 

> 


C 


^ 


REVIVALS  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA    211 

all  there  is  of  it."  We  arrived,  and  the  house  was 
packed,  the  doors  and  windows  full  as  usual.  By 
hard  work  I  managed  to  get  to  my  chair  on  the 
platform  while  the  congregation  was  singing.  Turn- 
ing to  the  half  dozen  ministers  sitting  around  me, 
I  said,  "  Brethren,  one  of  you  will  hav^e  to  preach. 
I  can't."  They  insisted  that  I  must,  saying  that 
the  congregation  expected  it  and  adding  that  they 
had  made  no  preparation  for  it.  It  was  a  great 
trial  to  me,  sitting  there  and  hearing  each  one 
declare  that  he  could  not  preach.  Finally  one  bro- 
ther said,  "  We  need  to  pray, "  and  knelt  down  and 
led  the  congregation  in  prayer.  Then  another  said, 
"  While  you  are  deciding  who  will  preach,  I  will  give 
out  another  hymn.  "  So  he  rose  and  said,  **  Brother 
Jay  says  he  cannot  preach  to-night,  and  while  the 
brethren  are  deciding  who  will,  we  will  sing  another 
hymn."  It  was  a  trying  time.  All  eyes  were  on 
me,  wondering  what  was  the  matter.  Before  the 
hymn  was  finished  some  one  touched  me  on  the  arm 
and  handed  me  a  piece  of  paper  with  my  name  on 
the  back.  Inside  were  these  words,  "  I  think  you 
ought  to  preach  to-night  from  Matthew,  xxii,  nth 
and  T2th  verses. "  I  threw  it  on  the  floor  disgusted, 
saying  "who  is  giving  me  a  text?"  Immediately 
the  impression  came,  "  Do  I  not  use  thee  to  tell  others 
what  to  do?  May  I  not  use  one  of  my  children  to 
tell  thee  what  thy  duty  is?"  I  opened  the  paper, 
turned  to  the  reference,  and  in  a  moment  the  light 
shone  upon  the  text  and  it  took  hold  on  me.  Turn- 
ing to  the  brethren,  I  said,  "The  Lord  has  settled 
it.  I  will  preach. "  As  soon  as  the  singing  stopped 
I  rose,  and  for  more  than  half  an  hour  had  won- 
derful liberty  in  giving  the  message.     As  I  sat  down. 


212   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

a  lawyer  by  the  name  of  J.  R.  Bulla,  who  sat  in  front 
of  me,  a  man  of  the  world,  rose,  and  looking  me  in 
the  face  said,  "You  have  knocked  the  last  prop 
from  under  me;  I  surrender  to  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  "     And  fell  on  his  knees.     Others  followed. 

This  dear  man  was  saved,  joined  our  meeting, 
lived  a  Christian  life,  and  died  several  years  later 
in  the  triumph  of  faith.  He  had  a  wife  and  two 
daughters  who  were  Christians.  The  eldest  daughter 
was  specially  concerned  for  the  spiritual  welfare 
of  her  father  and  had  spoken  to  me  about  him 
several  times  during  the  meetings.  Some  three 
months  after  this,  as  I  was  walking  by  their  home, 
we  met.  She  came  up  to  me  and  said,  "  Brother 
Jay,  do  you  know  who  gave  you  the  text  you 
preached  from  the  night  my  father  was  converted?" 
Replying,  I  said,  "No,  but  I  expect  thee  did."  I 
had  not  thought  of  her  before,  though  I  had  often 
wished  that  I  did  know.  She  became  serious  and 
replied,  "Come  into  the  house  and  I  will  tell  you  all 
about  it."  She  said,  "I  was  so  burdened  for  the 
salvation  of  my  father  that  I  could  scarcely  eat  or 
sleep.  I  knew  he  was  under  conviction  and  that  he 
was  going  away  the  next  day  to  be  gone  a  month. 
I  felt  if  he  got  under  the  influence  of  his  old  com- 
panions he  would  settle  back  into  his  old  habits. 
With  these  thoughts  I  departed  for  the  afternoon 
prayer-meeting,  but  the  burden  was  so  great  that  I 
turned  back,  went  to  my  room,  locked  the  door,  and 
on  my  knees  for  a  long  time  asked  God  to  save  my 
father.  He  told  me  if  Allen  Jay  would  preach  from 
Matthew,  xxii,  ii  and  12  that  night  my  father  would 
be  saved.  I  rose,  went  to  my  desk  and  wrote  a 
letter  to  you  asking  you  to  do  so.     When  the  bell 


REVIVALS  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA    213 

rang  for  the  night's  service  I  started  to  the  church, 
but  on  the  way  I  began  to  reason  that  you  were  a 
Quaker  preacher  and  did  not  believe  in  having  a  text 
given  to  you  and  that  here  I  was,  a  young  girl  going 
to  tell  you  what  to  preach  about.  I  felt  afraid  that 
it  would  insult  you,  and  listening  to  my  fears,  I  tore 
the  letter  up  and  went  on,  praying  that  the  Lord 
would  make  you  preach  that  text.  So  when  that 
minister  rose  and  said  that  you  could  not  preach 
that  night,  I  secretly  exclaimed,  'O  Lord,  what 
shall  I  do?'  The  answer  was,  'I  told  thee  what 
to  do  and  thee  refused.  Thy  father's  blood  will  be 
on  thee.'  In  my  desperation  I  wrote  on  the  fly- 
leaf of  my  hymn  book  the  words  I  sent  you,  tore 
it  out,  doubled  it  up,  wrote  your  name  on  the  outside 
and  sent  it  through  the  crowd  to  you.  I  was  so 
excited  I  forgot  to  sign  my  name.  My  heart  leaped 
for  joy  when  you  rose  with  the  text.  It  was  a  glori- 
ous night  to  me  and  to  our  household. "  The  dear 
girl  died  a  few  years  later.  After  her  death  I  told 
her  father  about  it  and  he  said,  "  I  knew  she  was 
praying  for  me." 

Not  long  after  this  Mary  Moon  (now  Mary  M. 
Meredith)  came  into  North  Carolina  and  labored  as 
an  evangelist,  and  being  a  woman  she  opened  the 
way  for  other  women  and  did  a  good  work.  Her 
work  is  remembered  by  many.  Later  there  were 
others  who  came  who  had  the  evangelistic  gift,  such 
as  John  Y.  Hoover,  of  Iowa,  who  did  good  service 
in  gathering  into  the  church.  Still  later,  Fernando 
G.  Cartland  and  his  wife,  Abby  Cartland,  labored 
efficiently,  and  later  yet  James  Jones  has  labored 
to  enlarge  the  borders  of  North  Carolina  Yearly 
Meeting.     Of  their  own  membership,  Albert  Peele, 


2  14   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

Mary  Woody,  Mary  Cartland  and  others  have 
done  royal  ser\dce.  These  have  come  to  the  front 
since  the  days  of  the  Baltimore  Association,  and  it 
is  cause  for  rejoicing  that  others  are  coming  for- 
ward in  the  ministry,  missionary,  and  other  fields 
of  religious  labor  in  the  various  branches  of  church 
work.  The  Master  of  the  vineyard  knows  who  have 
been  instrumental  in  laying  the  foundation  of  this 
work.  He  will  divide  the  sheaves  with  a  loving 
and  impartial  hand. 

Enthusiasm  of  Parents  and  Children  for  Education 

Having  spoken  of  the  teachers  and  their  work,  it 
is  but  just  to  mention  the  part  taken  by  the  parents 
and  their  children  in  this  building-up  process.  Many 
of  the  parents  had  labored  hard  and  struggled  under 
many  privations  to  care  for  their  children  during 
the  war.  When  the  war  closed  and  they  began  to 
get  started  in  their  new  life,  their  minds  turned  to 
their  children,  who  had  not  had  any  opportunity 
for  education  during  those  long  years  of  trial  and 
darkness.  But  few  schools  were  kept  up  in  the 
South.  The  boarding-school  at  New  Garden  con- 
tinued through  the  war,  and  the  Friends  Academy 
at  Belvidere  was  in  operation  most  of  the  time. 
With  these  exceptions  but  few  schools  were  in  oper- 
ation among  Friends  or  others.  At  the  close  of  the 
war  what  public  school  funds  there  were  had  been 
lost,  so  that  parents  turned  to  the  association  and 
said,  "We  can  work  our  way  and  care  for  our  fam- 
ilies if  the  association  will  assist  us  to  educate  our 
children.  They  are  oiu*  hope  for  the  future. "  Many 
of  them  made  heroic  efforts  to  keep  their  children 
in  school.     Many  bright  examples  of  trust  and  faith 


REVIVALS  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA    215 

came  under  my  observation.  One  day  after  a  meet- 
ing in  the  school,  a  mother  invited  me  to  go  home 
with  her  to  dinner.  When  the  time  came  to  sit 
down  to  eat  we  gathered  around  the  table  and  there 
were  three  pieces  of  back-bone  of  a  pig,  some  com 
bread,  and  cold  water.  After  the  children  had  all 
bowed  their  heads  and  folded  their  hands,  she  re- 
quested me  to  ask  the  blessing  upon  the  meal.  While 
we  were  eating  she  talked  of  the  blessings  of  her 
Heavenly  Father  —how  he  had  preserved  her  and  the 
children.  She  pointed  out  where  General  Sherman 
had  pitched  his  tent  over  night,  and  the  road  in 
front  of  her  house  still  showed  the  marks  where  the 
heavy  artillery  had  been  hauled  along,  but  she  had 
been  preserved  through  it  all  and  now  her  children 
were  actually  going  to  school  and  learning  to  read. 
Another  poor  widow  told  how  during  the  summer, 
when  her  vegetables  and  little  patch  of  com  were 
all  drying  up  for  the  want  of  rain,  she  could  not 
sleep  one  night,  and  getting  out  of  bed,  began  to  pray 
for  rain.  She  then  remembered  that  sometimes  she 
had  done  wrong  and  was  fearful  that  God  would 
not  hear  her  on  account  of  her  transgressions.  She 
then  woke  up  her  three  little  children,  who  she  felt 
were  innocent,  thinking  that  perhaps  God  would  hear 
their  prayers.  When  they  had  knelt  with  her  she 
told  them  to  ask  God  to  send  rain,  and  she  believed 
the  Heavenly  Father  would  hear  their  childish 
prayers.  While  they  were  praying  the  rain  began 
to  fall  upon  the  clapboard  roof  of  the  cabin.  To  her 
childlike  faith  it  was  a  direct  answer  to  prayer,  and 
she  could  not  speak  of  it  without  shedding  tears  of 
joy.  One  more  instance,  among  others,  was  that  of  a 
poor  widow  with  six  children,  who  was  struggling  to 


2i6   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

educate  them.  She  had  about  half  an  acre  of  ground 
from  which  she  and  her  children  cleared  off  the  trash 
and  then  with  a  hoe  and  shovels  they  loosened  up 
the  soil.  She  then  sowed  it  with  wheat ,  and  with 
a  rake  and  hoe  covered  it  up.  Then  with  the  chil- 
dren she  asked  God  to  bless  it  and  cause  it  to  bring 
forth  a  good  crop,  and  she  covenanted  with  Him 
that  He  should  have  one- tenth  of  the  income.  It 
was  a  beautiful  little  patch  of  wheat,  so  much  so  that 
the  neighbors  talked  about  it.  When  harvest  came 
they  cut  it  the  best  they  could,  and  with  a  flail  beat 
it  out  on  the  old  bam  floor.  When  they  had  cleaned 
it  all  there  were  ten  half  bushels  of  good  wheat. 
The  last  half  bushel  was  heaping  full,  and  she  pro- 
posed to  the  children  that  they  give  that  one  to  the 
Lord.  Not  knowing  how  to  use  it  to  the  best  advan- 
tage, she  brought  it  to  our  house  saying  that  I  would 
know  how  to  use  it  to  do  the  most  good.  My  wife, 
knowing  her  condition,  suggested  that  perhaps  it 
would  be  right  for  her  to  keep  it  to  help  clothe  and 
feed  her  children  during  the  coming  winter,  but  she 
insisted  that  it  was  not  hers,  that  it  belonged  to 
the  Lord  and  that  she  must  leave  it  with  me  to 
dispose  of  in  a  way  that  would  honor  Him.  Just 
then  I  came  in,  and  after  listening  to  her  story,  told 
her  I  would  do  with  it  as  she  requested,  and  then 
I  had  the  pleasure  of  saying  to  her,  "Here  is  a 
twenty-dollar  bill  that  the  Lord  has  sent  thee,  for 
yesterday  morning,  as  I  was  leaving  the  home  of  a 
Christian  woman  in  New  York,  she  handed  me  this  , 
twenty-dollar  bill  for  thee,  as  she  had  been  in  thy 
home  and  knew  of  thy  need."  Her  reply  was,  "I 
knew  the  Lord  would  do  his  part,  and  now  he  has 
given  me  twenty  fold." 


REVIVALS  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA    217 

While  giving  a  few  instances  illustrating  the  faith 
of  a  few  parents,  there  were  a  far  greater  number 
who  manifested  this  life  of  quiet  confidence  in  God 
in  their  homes,  never  murmuring  or  complaining 
as  they  saw  their  property  destroyed  by  the  ravages 
of  war.  They  bore  with  sweet  resignation  the  odium 
that  was  heaped  upon  them  and  their  families  by 
the  enemies  of  their  peace  principles,  and  as  I 
sat  and  talked  with  them  and  listened  to  their  tales 
of  true  heroism,  I  was  often  impressed  with  their 
simple  narratives.  They  never  spoke  of  their  acts 
in  a  way  that  would  lead  me  to  think  they  had  done 
anything  much,  but  simply  had  done  their  duty, 
which  is  a  sign  of  true  greatness.  Sham  heroism 
is  always  watching  to  see  if  it  is  going  to  be  praised 
for  what  it  is  doing.  Self  is  the  forefront,  always 
desirous  of  coming  out  on  top  in  the  eyes  of  its 
friends.  Not  so  were  these  leading  Friends  of 
North  Carolina.  They  were  simply  faithful  unto 
their  Master.  These  lessons  were  not  lost  upon  their 
children.  They  caught  the  spirit  of  endurance  and 
of  self-denying  lives.  They  were  ready  to  do  their 
duty  when  the  opportunity  was  offered.  When  the 
opportunity  came  for  them  to  go  to  school  they  car- 
ried this  spirit  into  the  schoolroom.  So  v/hen  the 
association  opened  the  schools  in  different  neighbor- 
hoods, the  children  were  ready  to  fill  them  up. 
There  was  no  need  of  a  truant  officer  in  such  neigh- 
borhoods. It  has  been  my  privilege  to  be  connected 
with  institutions  of  learning  for  more  than  fifty 
years,  first  at  Farmers'  Institute,  then  in  the  asso- 
ciation work  in  North  Carolina,  then  at  Providence, 
Rhode  Island,  and  now  for  the  last  thirty  years  with 
Earlham  College.     I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying 


3i8   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

that  I  have  never  seen  scholars,  old  or  young,  who 
were  more  keen  to  learn  or  who  made  better  prog- 
ress in  their  studies  than  these  in  North  Carolina. 
They  caught  the  spirit  of  education  and  had  a 
determination  to  make  up  for  lost  time.  Many  of 
these  were  young  men  and  young  women  who  had 
missed  four  or  five  years  that  they  should  have  had 
in  school.  Speaking  one  day  to  a  little  boy  of 
about  twelve  and  his  sister,  perhaps  ten,  who  had 
to  walk  four  miles  to  school  through  the  woods,  I 
asked  them  what  time  they  left  home  in  the  morn- 
ing. The  reply  was,  "We  do  not  know;  we  have 
no  clock,  but  the  stars  were  still  shining  when  we 
started. "  The  teacher  said  they  were  nearly  always 
on  time.  Those  children  have  grown  up  and  are 
making  their  mark  in  the  Church  to-day.  Many 
walked  two  and  three  miles.  Is  it  to  be  wondered 
at  that  with  such  teachers  and  such  earnest  scholars, 
backed  up  by  the  parents  who  were  encouraging  the 
work,  and  with  the  united  prayers  of  the  Church, 
that  the  work  of  the  Baltimore  Association  was  a 
success?    It  could  not  have  been  otherwise. 


Chapter  XXIII 

FINAL  WORK  OF  THE  BALTIMORE 
ASSOCIATION 

The  Model  Farm 

Soon  after  the  educational  work  was  under  way 
the  association  conceived  the  idea  of  trying  to 
improve  and  develop  the  agricultural  resources  of 
the  State.  On  this  subject  it  made  the  following 
record:  "The  low  and  unremunerative  state  of 
agriculture  in  North  Carolina  exercises  a  very  de- 
pressing influence  upon  every  effort  to  ameliorate 
the  physical  and  educational  condition  of  her  peo- 
ple. Every  other  interest,  being  essentially  depend- 
ent upon  this,  languishes  under  the  inadequate 
reward  of  the  tiller  of  the  soil.  Under  this  influence 
the  disposition  to  leave  the  State  after  the  close  of 
the  war  had  scarcely  any  limit  except  the  inability 
to  do  so.  To  educate  and  enlighten  her  people  with- 
out at  the  same  time  demonstrating  the  possibility 
of  greater  returns  for  labor  would  still  further  tend 
to  her  depopulation.  A  work  so  general  in  its  char- 
acter could  not  fail  to  stimulate  Friends  to  desire 
improved  agriculture.  There  had  been  a  continual 
pressure  upon  us  to  establish  a  model  farm  and  to 
place  among  them  a  practical  farmer  who  should, 
by  improved  farming  implements,  artificial  manures, 
introduction  of  grasses,  selected  seed,  and  stock 
demonstrate  to  their  eyes  the  great  neglected  wealth 

(219) 


2  20   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

of  the  soil,  awaiting  only  the  call  of  improved 
cultivation;  and  who,  by  the  establishment  of 
agricultural  clubs  within  the  limits  of  each  quarterly 
meeting,  should  stimulate  a  spirit  of  inqmry  and 
enterprise  which  would  be  rewarded  by  the  best 
practical  results.  We  have  accordingly  purchased  a 
farm  formerly  owned  by  that  honored  and  devoted 
servant  of  Christ,  the  late  Nathan  Hunt,  at  Spring- 
field, on  the  dividing  line  between  Guilford  and 
Randolph  Counties. ' '  This  farm  was  bought  in  1 86  7 , 
after  much  care  and  investigation,  Francis  T.  King 
examininf^  it  two  or  three  times  himself,  with  several 
farmers  from  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania.  It 
contained  about  two  hundred  acres  and  cost 
$4,400.  The  Friends  at  Springfield  were  so 
anxious  to  have  it  located  there  that  they  paid  $700 
towards  it.  There  was  a  small  stream  of  water  run- 
ning through  this  farm  upon  which  they  erected  a 
bone  mill,  believed  to  be  the  first  bone  mill  erected 
in  the  South.  By  this  means  they  secured  bone  dust 
to  use  as  fertilizer.  They  selected  as  the  superin- 
tendent of  the  agricultural  work  William  A.  Samp- 
son, of  Maine,  who  took  charge  of  the  farm,  erected  a 
model  dwelling  house  upon  it,  and  a  barn  built  after 
the  most  approved  plan.  Fourth  month  12,  1869, 
F.  T.  King  wrote  to  his  friend  Samuel  Bewley,  in 
Ireland,  saying  that  "After  three  years'  duration  it 
has  made  wonderful  progress,  revolutionizing  the 
whole  neighborhood.  I  often  rejoice  in  tears  at  this 
true  manifestation  of  true  Christian  citizenship  on 
the  part  of  men  who  were  despised  for  a  century  past 
and  who  suffered  patiently  for  conscience's  sake,  now 
returning  good  for  evil.  There  are  now  seventeen 
agricultural  clubs  with  a  membership  of  over  fifteen 


FINAL  WORK  221 

hundred.  They  meet  monthly.  We  make  this 
department  nearly  self-siistaining.  It  embraces 
a  model  farm,  agricultural  implements  and  seed 
department,  four  hundred  and  fifty  subscribers 
to  agricultural  papers,  all  under  the  care  of  our 
superintendent,  who  is  a  farmer  and  a  lecturer.  He 
has  solved  the  grass  question,  for  in  1867  he  imported 
and  sold  at  cost  500  pounds  of  clover  seed;  in  1868, 
5,000  pounds;  and  in  1869,  19,880  pounds."  The 
superintendent,  in  his  foiuth  annual  report,  in  1871, 
writes  to  the  association:  "From  a  carefiil  estimate, 
I  am  satisfied  that  over  10,000  acres  have  been  suc- 
cessfully sown  with  clover  in  consequence  of  the 
establishment  of  your  farm.  I  have  hulled  and 
cleaned  several  lots  of  clover  seed  for  various  persons 
this  fall  and  now  have  one  which  was  brought  ten  or 
twelve  miles  to  be  cleaned.  By  the  sale  of  improved 
implements,  several  reapers,  mowers,  wheelrakes, 
ploughs,  both  iron  and  cast  steel,  cultivators,  clover 
seed  gatherers,  etc.,  have  been  supplied  by  me  to  the 
farmers,  greatly  to  their  satisfaction.  There  is  music 
in  the  click  of  a  mowing  machine  which  to  the  ear 
of  a  progressive  man  is  more  potent  than  the  words 
of  an  orator,  and  which  is  proved  in  every  neighbor- 
hood where  one  is  carried.  It  instantly  suggests  the 
propriety  of  removing  all  stumps,  stones,  sprouts; 
underdraining  the  wet  places  so  the  horses  can  travel 
better ;  better  ploughing  to  insure  a  smooth  surface ; 
all  these  improvements  speedily  followed.  Hardly 
a  day  passes  without  some  stranger  visiting  the  farm, 
and  in  spring  time  they  come  in  great  niunbers,  so 
that  during  the  second  and  third  months  it  takes 
nearly  all  my  time  to  attend  to  them.  During  the 
last  year  it  was  estimated  that  something  over  one 


222   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

thousand  persons  visited  the  farm.  Of  the  improved 
stock  we  now  have  five  head  of  thoroughbred  Alder- 
neys,  the  gifts  of  Charles  L.  Sharpless,  of  Philadel- 
phia; James  Taylor  and  Joseph  B.  Cooper,  of  New 
Jersey,  and  James  Carey  and  James  W.  Tyson,  of 
Baltimore."  This  farm  was  named  by  the  associa- 
tion Swarthmore  Farm,  but  it  became  known  far  and 
wide  as  the  Model  Farm,  In  1872,  Francis  T.  King 
writes:  "The  effect  of  our  operations  on  the  com- 
munity has  been  gratifying  and  can  be  seen  for  fifty 
miles  around.  About  15,000  acres  have  been  sown 
with  clover,  in  the  surrounding  counties,  since  our 
operations  commenced.  Many  improved  imple- 
ments have  been  introduced.  Instead  of  the  scythe 
and  cradle  are  frequently  seen  the  mower  and  the 
reaper.  A  large  number  of  people  from  all  parts  of 
the  State  continue  to  visit  the  farm  to  see  for  them- 
selves the  new  way,  and  they  very  generally  express 
themselves  as  satisfied  that  it  is  an  improvement  on 
the  old  exhaustive  system.  The  effects  of  our  educa- 
tional and  agricultural  efforts  in  staying  the  tide  of 
emigration  to  the  West  is  very  apparent  and  has 
already  saved  to  North  Carolina  hundreds  of  her  best 
citizens." 

Close    of   the    Work    of    the   Baltimore    Association 

When  the  time  came  that  the  association  felt  i^ 
had  done  its  duty  in  the  agricultural  department, 
the  farm  was  sold  and  the  proceeds  used  to  advance 
the  educational  interests  of  what  is  now  known  as 
Guilford  College.  At  the  same  time  they  arranged 
to  close  their  care  of  the  educational  work  and  to 
turn  it  over  to  the  supervision  of  North  Carolina 
Yearly  Meeting.     In  my  final  report  I  find  the  fol- 


FINAL  WORK  223 

lowing  closing  paragraph :  "  In  bringing  this,  my  last, 
report  to  a  close,  I  desire  to  record  my  high  appre- 
ciation of  the  services  of  our  teachers.  To  their 
devoted  and  earnest  labors  in  a  great  measure  is  due 
the  success  of  this  noble  work,  a  work  of  seven  years, 
which  I  believe  will  stand  out  prominently  in  the 
history  of  our  society  in  the  South.  Permit  me  to 
suggest  the  propriety  of  publishing  a  brief  history  of 
it,  which  I  believe  would  be  deeply  interesting  and 
useful.  In  conclusion,  it  is  with  deep  regret  that 
I  take  leave  of  the  work  in  the  prosecution  of  which 
I  have  become  so  closely  united  with  the  dear  teach- 
ers and  Friends  with  whom  I  have  labored.  I  desire 
also  to  express  my  gratitude  to  you  for  your  con- 
fidence and  support.  I  feel  thankful  that  I  have 
had  even  a  small  part  in  this  good  cause.  May  the 
Divine  blessing  continue  to  rest  upon  you  and  the 
State  that  has  been  the  scene  of  this  work  is  the 
prayer  of  your  friend." 

We  find  upon  the  records  of  the  association  this 
closing  minute:  "At  a  called  meeting  of  the  Balti- 
more Association  of  Friends  to  Advise  and  Assist 
Friends  of  the  Southern  States,  held  at  Friends 
Meeting  House,  comer  of  Eutaw  and  Monument 
Streets,  Baltimore,  Second  month  12,  1891,  pres- 
ent Francis  T.  King,  Secretary  John  C.  Thomas, 
Treasurer  Jesse  Tyson  and  thirteen  members,  it  was 
resolved  that  as  the  objects  of  the  association  have 
been  accomplished  and  no  further  reason  exists  for 
its  continuance,  the  said  association  is  hereby  dis- 
solved. The  books  and  papers  of  the  association  are 
to  be  placed  with  the  records  of  Baltimore  Yearly 
Meeting  of  Friends.  The  secretary  was  directed  to 
send  a  copy  of  these  minutes  to  the  Provident  Life 


224  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

and   Trust   Company   of   Philadelphia.     Then   ad- 
journed.    John  C.  Thomas,  Secretary." 

The  question  has  often  been  asked,  how  much 
money  did  the  association  expend  in  its  work  and 
where  did  it  come  from?  It  has  been  hard  to  find 
a  definite  answer  to  this  question,  but  after  con- 
siderable research  I  believe  the  following  figures 
approximately  yield  the  facts  in  the  case: 

For  physical  relief,  including  cost  of  the 

Model  Farm $  36,000.00 

Friends  schools 72,000.00 

Guilford  College 23,000.00 

Building  and  repairing  meeting-house 7,300.00 

A  total  of $138,300.00 

As  nearly  as  I  can  ascertain,  this  amount  was 
divided  among  the  members  of  the  different  yearly 
meetings  as  follows : 

London  Yearly  Meeting $  38,750.00 

Dublin 16,250.00 

New  England ^ 9,000.00 

New  York 10,200.00 

Philadelphia 30,150.00 

Baltimore 14,700.00 

Ohio 1,600.00 

Indiana 9,750.00 

Iowa 2,400.00 

Western 5,500.00 

Total    $138,300.00 

Superintendent  of  Education  for  North  Carolina 
Yearly  Meeting 

Now,  as  the  Baltimore  Association  had  turned 
over  the  educational  work  to  the  yearly  meeting,  it 
was  necessary  that  some  one  should  have  the  superin- 


FINAL  WORK  225 

tendence  of  the  work.  The  yearly  meeting  requested 
that  I  should  hold  that  position  for  one  year  longer, 
so  I  continued  to  look  after  the  work.  It  gave  me  an 
opportunity  to  visit  all  the  meetings  and  schools, 
both  the  day  schools  and  the  First-day  schools,  as 
there  was  a  school  in  each  meeting  in  the  yearly 
meeting,  and  all  the  Friends  children  were  in  these 
schools.  Each  monthly  meeting  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  have  the  care  of  the  schools  within  its 
limits.  This  to  me  was  a  pleasant  service,  laying 
down  the  burdens  on  the  shoulders  of  those  prepared 
to  receive  them,  feeling  that  the  work  would  be 
continued  until  the  public  school  system  would 
be  fully  organized  and  take  the  education  of  the 
children  throughout  the  State  under  its  care.  Owe 
schools  did  much  to  stimulate  the  State  in  building 
up  its  first  public  school  system,  and  our  normal 
schools  laid  the  foundation  for  the  splendid  normal 
school  they  now  have.  In  the  midst  of  otu-  work  the 
Superintendent  of  Education  of  the  State  died,  and 
the  Governor,  who  had  to  appoint  some  one  to  fill 
out  the  term  of  his  office,  sent  for  me,  but  I  told  him 
plainly  that  I  could  do  the  State  more  good  to  keep 
out  of  politics  in  those  reconstruction  days.  I  now 
feel  that  it  was  a  wise  conclusion.  It  was  at  a  time 
when  carpet-bag  politics  were  at  their  height,  and 
it  would  have  thrown  a  suspicion  over  my  work  had 
I  taken  a  public  ofhce.  As  it  was,  I  was  doing 
this  farewell  work  with  the  satisfaction  that  what 
had  been  done  was  from  a  sense  of  duty,  with  only 
one  thing  in  view — the  good  of  the  cause. 


15 


Chapter  XXIV 
DR.  NEREUS  MENDENHALL 

Allusion  has  been  made  in  these  pages  while 
speaking  of  the  Baltimore  Association  work  to  Dr. 
Nereus  Mendenhall  and  Delphina  E.  Mendenhall. 
Each  of  these  persons  was  of  such  prominence  in  the 
affairs  of  North  Carolina  Yearly  Meeting  and  the 
surrounding  coiuitry  that  I  have  thought  a  little 
further  account  of  their  lives  would  be  of  interest 
and  not  out  of  place  in  the  history  of  the  period 
which  is  under  consideration. 

Dr.  Nereus  Mendenhall,  the  third  child  of  Rich- 
ard and  Mary  Pegg  Mendenhall,  was  bom  at  the  old 
homestead  in  Jamestown,  N,  C,  on  the  14th  of 
August,  1819.  Early  in  life  he  manifested  a  decided 
interest  in  literary  and  religious  matters.  His  studies 
were  watchfully  encouraged  by  his  father,  who  was 
himself  a  fine  classical  scholar.  At  the  age  of  thir- 
teen Nereus  entered  a  printing  office  in  Greensboro 
and  in  this  congenial  occupation  furthered  his  love 
of  learning  and  at  the  same  time  saved  money  to 
enable  him  to  enter  Haverford  School,  now  Haver- 
ford  College,  which  he  did  in  1837.  By  earnest 
application  he  was  enabled  to  graduate  in  1839, 
thus  crowding  a  four  years'  course  into  two  years, 
a  very  unwise  procedure  which  doubtless  bore  fruit 
in  after  years. 

That  the  spiritual  vision  was  cleared  as  well  as 
the  intellectual  life  invigorated  is  shown  by  the  fol- 

(226) 


DR.  NEREUS  MENDENHALL         227 

lowing  little  testimony  given  by  him  near  the  close 
of  his  life  to  his  dear  friend  and  classmate,  Dr. 
Richard  Randolph,  of  Philadelphia. 

It  will  be  noted  that  in  this  as  in  many  other 
instances  the  enlightenment  came  through  the  de- 
voted study  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  of  which  to  his 
dying  day  he  was  a  tireless  student.  His  little  Greek 
Testament  lying  on  the  stand  beside  his  bed  was 
one  of  the  few  books  read  during  his  last  illness. 

"  The  revelation  which  in  my  little  dormitory  at 
Haverford  came  to  me  as  alone  by  the  narrow 
window  I  read  Psalm  34-1  c,  'The  young  lions  do 
lack  and  suffer  hunger,  but  they  that  seek  the  Lord 
shall  not  want  any  good  thing  * ;  however  imable 
at  some  times  to  see  how  it  is  true,  from  that  time 
to  the  present  I  have  never  relinquished  nor  ceased 
to  cherish." 

Upon  his  graduation  from  Haverford  he  took 
the  place  as  principal  of  Friends  Boarding-School 
at  New  Garden.  The  life  was  arduous,  for  in  those 
days  the  boards  had  the  idea,  not  yet  wholly  out- 
grown, that  the  fiber  of  teachers  was  rubber  and 
steel  and  that  the  occupation  of  teaching  was  such 
an  easy  task  that  the  more  work  which  could  be 
piled  on  the  better.  Notwithstanding  his  multi- 
farious duties,  which  lasted  from  early  morning  until 
the  students  were  in  bed  asleep,  he  prepared  him- 
self to  enter  Jefferson  Medical  College,  Philadelphia, 
from  which  institution  he  graduated  in  1845. 

Although  he  practiced  medicine  successfully  for 
several  years,  the  strain  was  too  severe  for  one  of 
his  sensitive  and  sympathetic  nature,  and  he  retired 
permanently  from  the  profession  after  five  or  six 
years. 


328   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

In  a  letter  to  a  friend  written  about  this  time  he 
said  that  he  believed  teaching  to  be  his  God-given 
calling  and  that  he  always  felt  as  if  he  were  wasting 
his  time  when  he  was  otherwise  employed.  During 
the  years  in  which  he  was  practicing  medicine  he 
was  issuing  a  small  educational  paper  and  doing  all 
he  could  to  promote  public  education. 

In  185 1  he  married  Oriana  Wilson,  an  own  cousin 
of  Delphina  Mendenhall,  who  had  for  several  years 
lived  in  her  home  and  been  one  of  her  chief  aids  in  the 
management  of  her  affairs.  She  was  a  very  ener- 
getic, capable  woman  with  a  well-balanced  mind  and 
sterling  character. 

Dr.  Mendenhall  had  been  almost  continuously 
connected  with  the  boarding-school  either  as  teacher, 
superintendent  or  trustee.  His  always  delicate 
health  would  not  permit  of  several  consecutive 
years  in  the  schoolroom,  and  he  varied  his  employ- 
ment from  time  to  time  by  engaging  in  civil  engineer- 
ing, the  outdoor  exercise  and  tent  life  being  the  best 
tonic  available.  He  was  thus  occupied  during  the 
years  immediately  preceding  the  Civil  War,  his 
home  being  in  the  pleasant  little  village  of  Florence, 
N.  C,  one  mile  from  Deep  River  Meeting-house. 

In  the  confusion  and  distress  incident  to  the 
outbreak  of  the  war  the  boarding-school  was  left 
without  a  teacher.  Numbers  of  Friends  had  already 
gone  West  and  others  were  going,  and  the  whole 
country  was  in  a  turmoil.  The  trustees  appealed 
to  Dr.  Mendenhall  to  again  take  charge  of  the  school. 
He  consented  to  do  so  and  moved  his  family  into 
the  farmhouse,  the  first  house  built  upon  what  is 
now  the  college  property. 

The  war  cloud  gathered  with  alarming  velocity, 


DR.  NEREUS  MENDENHALL         229 

and  as  many  of  the  Friends  and  relatives  of  the 
family  were  joining  the  general  migration,  the 
question  as  to  what  was  his  duty  in  the  matter 
became  a  pressing  one. 

In  the  West  was  freedom  from  the  ever-pressing 
burdens  which  all  antislavery  men  were  compelled 
to  bear  in  slave  communities.  He  was  very  averse 
to  bringing  up  his  daughters  in  the  midst  of  slavery. 
The  prospect  for  lucrative  employment  was  alluring 
and  the  great  claims  of  those  he  had  known  and 
loved  from  childhood  beckoned  him  away. 

In  the  South  war,  tria^  and  sacrifice,  hardship 
and  an  imcertain  subsistence  for  him  and  his.  The 
furniture  was  sold,  the  boxes  packed  and  at  the 
station,  and  the  family  ready  to  leave  on  the  morrow, 
when  the  responsibility  of  abandoning  the  school 
which  would  be  left  without  a  teacher  and  must  of 
necessity  be  closed  so  oppressed  him  that  in  earnest 
prayer  he  laid  the  matter  before  the  Lord  and  was 
fully  convinced  that  it  was  the  will  of  God  for  him 
to  remain  and  face  the  consequences,  be  they  what 
they  might. 

His  wife  was  perfectly  willing  to  abandon  the 
undertaking  and  return  to  the  old  farmhouse  with 
her  little  flock  and  again  gather  such  household 
goods  as  were  indispensable  in  the  effort  to  make  a 
home  which  would  live  in  the  minds  of  her  children 
while  life  lasted. 

As  a  result  of  this  action  the  school  was  never 
closed  but  continued  in  operation  all  through  the 
Civil  War,  the  only  educational  institution  in  the 
State  which  was  able  to  breast  the  storms  of  that 
terrific  time. 

During  this  period  Dr.  Mendenhall  was  active 


2  30   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

in  behalf  of  Friends  who  were  either  drafted  or 
conscripted  and  went  several  times  to  Richmond  to 
interview  the  Confederate  authorities.  He  ap- 
pealed to  Jefferson  Davis  in  person  and  was  most 
kindly  received  and  courteously  listened  to  by  him. 
While  he  was  unable  to  secure  relief  which  was 
perfectly  satisfactory,  the  Friends  were  granted  the 
privilege  of  buying  their  freedom  from  military 
service  by  the  payment  of  $500  in  Confederate 
money.  At  one  time  when  addressing  a  committee 
to  whom  the  matter  was  referred,  it  was  said  Dr. 
Mendenhall  made  a  most  remarkable  speech,  which 
held  the  Confederate  legislators  spellbound  by  the 
force  of  its  argument  against  war.  Dining  these 
years  and  several  succeeding  years  he  was  clerk  of 
the  yearly  meeting. 

Soon  after  the  close  of  the  war  he  bought  a  farm 
near  Deep  River  Meeting-house  and  removed  to 
that  place.  For  two  or  three  years  he  conducted  a 
monthly  meeting  school  and  then  again  engaged  in 
civil  engineering,  an  occupation  which  always 
brought  renewed  health  and  vigor. 

His  political  affiliations  had  always  been  "  union  " 
and  antislavery,  but  during  the  terrible  reconstruc- 
tion period  he  allied  himself  with  that  party  which 
alone  cared  whether  the  South  sank  and  went  to 
ruin  or  survived  as  a  part  of  the  national  life.  He 
was  elected  several  times  to  the  Legislature  of  the 
State  and  while  there  served  faithfully  the  interests 
of  the  people.  Now  he  and  his  friend.  Dr.  William 
Nicholson,  who  was  also  a  member  of  the  Legislature, 
were  on  the  committee  to  write  the  new  constitution 
for  the  State  and  did  much  towards  giving  the  State 
the  constitution  that  it  now  has.     Particularly  did 


DR.  NEREUS  MENDALL  231 

Dr.  Mendenhall  labor  in  the  cause  of  education  and 
for  the  improvement  in  the  care  of  the  insane,  which 
latter  class  were  in  a  most  pitiable  condition,  con- 
fined in  jails  and  county  houses  without  proper  care 
or  right  medical  attention. 

When  the  State  decided  to  provide  additional 
room  by  the  erection  of  a  new  hospital  at  Morganton, 
Dr.  Mendenhall  insisted  that  it  be  called  a  hospital 
and  not  an  asylum,  insanity  being  a  disease  and  not  a 
possession. 

He  was  made  a  member  of  the  very  important 
committee  to  whom  the  erection  and  equipment  of 
this  building  was  entrusted.  His  services  on  this 
board  were  of  the  greatest  importance,  both  in  the 
arrangement  of  the  hospital  and  in  the  thoroughness 
of  its  construction.  He  was  very  watchful  that  no 
ill-made  bricks  or  inferior  material  should  have  a 
place  in  the  building. 

After  he  retired  from  all  other  outside  employ- 
ment he  still  served  on  the  Educational  Board  of 
Guilford  County  and  interested  himself  in  the  public 
schools.  No  one  was  more  interested  in  the  work  of 
the  Baltimore  Association  than  he.  Francis  T.  King 
often  sought  his  counsel  and  advice  in  the  inception 
of  the  work.  His  interest  and  delight  in  the  normal 
schools  inaugurated  was  an  inspiration  to  those  in 
charge.  From  time  to  time  as  invited  he  was  will- 
ing to  assist  by  lectures,  readings,  or  impromptu 
speeches.  In  later  life  he  was  for  a  time  connected 
with  Penn  Charter  School  of  Philadelphia  and  then 
as  instructor  and  superintendent  of  Haverford 
College.  Three  years  he  enjoyed  greatly  in  the 
renewal  of  old  friendships,  and  the  formation  of  many 
new  and  congenial  ones. 


232   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

His  interest  in  religious  matters  strengthened  as 
the  years  went  by  and  his  whole  nature  mellowed 
and  ripened.  The  Society  of  Friends  was  always 
one  of  his  chief  concerns. 

With  very  much  of  what  was  introduced  after 
the  close  of  the  war  he  had  no  sympathy.  The 
crude  religious  instruction,  coupled  with  the  uncul- 
tured expressions  which  came  in  various  emotional 
groans  and  gestures,  did  not  appeal  to  one  who  had 
not  only  experienced  the  deep  things  of  God  per- 
sonally, but  had  made  himself  acquainted  with  the 
breadth  of  human  history  and  the  development 
of  the  mind  of  man. 

His  last  years  were  spent  at  Guilford  College, 
where  he  bought  a  cottage  home  for  himself  and 
wife  that  they  might  be  near  their  daughters,  four 
of  whom  were  living  in  or  near  the  College.  These 
three  years  he  greatly  enjoyed.  Frequently  he 
lectured  to  the  students,  and  his  little  library  was 
a  rendezvous  for  any  who  wished  to  consult  the 
doctor  on  literary  or  religious  subjects.  After  the 
death  of  his  wife  in  1890  his  own  health  steadily 
declined  until  his  death  in  October  of  1893. 

His  influence  in  North  Carolina  Yearly  Meeting 
can  scarcely  be  estimated,  and  many  are  still  living 
who  rejoice  to  call  him  teacher. 


Chapter  XXV 
DELPHINA  E.  MENDENHALL 

Delphina  E.  Mendenhall  at  the  time  I  knew  her 
was  a  widow  living  on  the  large  estate  bequeathed 
her  by  her  hiisband,  George  C.  Mendenhall,  a 
distinguished  lawyer  and  legislator  of  the  State. 

He  was  birthright  member  of  the  Society  of 
Friends,  but  was  disowned,  as  were  hundreds  of 
others,  by  the  suicidal  policy  of  the  stringent  mar- 
riage rules  of  the  day.  His  first  wife  besides  not 
being  a  Friend  was  the  owner  of  a  large  number  of 
slaves.  She  was  a  kindly,  sensitive  woman  and  was 
strangely  attached  to  and  influenced  by  the  elder 
brother  of  her  husband,  Richard  Mendenhall,  who 
was  all  of  his  mature  years  a  leader  in  the  yearly 
meeting  and  one  of  the  very  first  to  express  openly 
antislavery  views  and  labor  for  the  manumission 
of  slaves.  Eliza  Dunn  Mendenhall  sympathized  with 
these  views  and  wished  her  own  slaves  liberated,  and 
had  it  not  been  for  the  hasty,  injudicious  action  of 
the  Friends  in  disowning  her  husband  would  have 
most  Ukely  become  a  Friend  herself. 

Her  early  death  left  George  Mendenhall  with  an 
infant  son  and  a  colony  of  negroes.  His  home  was 
a  plantation  which  had  been  deeded  to  his  grand- 
father by  the  Earl  of  Granville,  to  whom  Carolina 
had  been  ceded  by  the  English  Crown.  A  grist 
mill,  a  sawmill,  a  blacksmith  shop,  a  carpenter  shop 
and  a  large  farm  could  not  give  employment  to  all 
of  his  negroes  and  he  was  obliged  to  send  many  of 

(*33) 


234  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

them  from  home  to  labor  for  others,  a  thing  he  very- 
much  deprecated.  Such  were  looked  after  closely 
and  if  abused  brought  home.  The  negroes  were 
often  bought  by  him  because  they  begged  him  to 
become  their  master,  but  not  one  was  ever  sold. 
To  this  home  he  brought  as  his  second  wife  one  of  the 
loveliest  women  who  has  ever  graced  the  Quaker 
garb  or  adorned  the  high  seat  in  a  Friends  meeting- 
house. Why  she  was  not  disowned  was  a  wonder, 
but  she  was  not,  and  from  that  time  until  the  day  of 
her  death  that  home  was  a  retreat  and  a  refreshment 
for  Friends  from  far  and  near. 

The  most  generous  and  even  lavish  hospitality 
was  dispensed  to  the  equal  enjoyment  of  husband 
and  wife.  The  coaches  and  barouches  were  always 
ready  to  take  either  the  ministers  or  the  guests  to 
whatever  Friends  meeting  was  in  progress,  the  master 
himself  often  occupying  the  seat  with  the  coachman 
if  the  inside  were  full  of  plain  bonnets  and  broad 
brimmed  hats. 

The  maiden  name  of  Delphina  Mendenhall  was 
Gardner.  Her  father,  Barzilla  Gardner,  had  died 
while  the  children  were  very  small  and  in  after 
years  her  mother  married  William  Long,  a  lawyer 
of  prominence,  who  beautifully  filled  the  place  of 
father  to  her  two  daughters.  When  George  Men- 
denhall asked  Mary  Wilson  Long  for  her  consent  to 
the  marriage,  she  replied  that  her  only  objection 
was  the  fact  that  he  owned  slaves.  To  this  he  re- 
plied that  he  regretted  this  fact  as  much  as  she  could 
and  that  he  intended  to  liberate  them  as  rapidly  as 
he  could  settle  them  comfortably  upon  the  free  soil 
of  Ohio.  This  then  became  the  combined  effort  of 
these  two  congenial  spirits. 


DELPHINA  E.  MENDENHALL        235 

The  way  was  difficult  and  very  much  more  care 
was  necessary  than  many  antislavery  people  in  the 
North  realized.  These  people  were  children  in  their 
experiences ;  unaccustomed  to  provide  for  themselves, 
it  was  necessary  to  train  them  to  some  useful  handi- 
craft and  fit  them  to  lead  independent  lives.  They 
could  not  be  liberated  in  the  South,  and  careful 
conduct  was  necessary  to  bring  them  safely  to  Ohio. 
Once  there,  it  would  be  cruelty  to  leave  them  to  the 
haphazard  arrangements  of  their  own  devising. 
Group  by  group,  as  fast  as  they  could  be  made  ready 
and  be  removed  without  breaking  up  families  and  the 
master  could  find  time  for  the  undertaking,  the 
slaves  were  being  taken  to  freedom.  Both  master 
and  mistress  accompanied  them  and  remained  with 
them  in  Ohio  until  all  were  secured  in  some  sustain- 
ing situation,  then  back  again  to  prepare  others  for 
the  journey. 

George  Mendenhall  had  an  extensive  law  practice 
in  the  State,  and  the  education  of  his  wife  had  been  so 
broad  and  thorough  that  she  became  of  the  greatest 
assistance  to  him  in  his  work  at  a  time  when  ste- 
nographers and  typewriters  were  imknown.  It  was 
said  of  her  in  after  years  that  she  knew  as  much  law 
as  he  did.  With  all  of  these  duties  and  the  manage- 
ment of  the  immense  household  and  ceaseless  enter- 
tainment for  the  lawyers,  judges  and  Governors, 
which  were  as  frequent  guests  as  the  "visiting 
Friends,"  she  still  found  time  not  only  to  attend 
Deep  River  Meeting  regularly  and  participate  in  the 
business  and  burden  bearitig  of  the  Church,  but  to 
keep  herself  well  informed  upon  the  topics  of  the  day 
and,  better  still,  to  study  the  best  literature  of  the 
world,  including  a  loving,  reverent  study  of  the  Bible. 


236   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

She  was  a  poet  herself  of  no  mean  order  and  many 
of  her  poems  may  be  found  in  the  volimies  of  the 
Friends  Review  signed  D.  or  D.  E.  M.  These  are 
full  of  the  keen  appreciation  of  the  beautiful  in 
nature  and  in  human  life,  which  was  one  of  her 
most  striking  characteristics. 

With  now  and  then  a  visit  to  Philadelphia  or  some 
other  point  in  the  North- and  West,  and  frequent 
journeys  with  her  husband  on  legal  business  through 
the  surrounding  counties  of  their  native  State,  many 
fruitful,  beneficent  years  glided  by.  The  war  cloud 
began  to  gather  and  they  were  eager  to  get  the  re- 
mainder of  their  slaves  to  Ohio,  but  before  the  cloud 
burst  in  fury  and  bloodshed  George  Mendenhall 
was  gone — drowned,  on  his  way  to  a  distant  court,  in 
the  swollen  waters  of  the  treacherous  Uwhwuaria. 
Stunned  beyond  all  telling,  stricken  to  the  heart  over 
her  personal  loss  and  loneliness,  Delphina  endeavored 
to  execute  her  husband's  will  in  regard  to  the  slaves 
and  started  the  last  band  on  the  journey  towards 
freedom.  They  did  not  reach  the  Ohio  River,  but 
were  met  by  hostile  officers  in  Virginia  and  com- 
pelled to  return  to  their  old  home.  Then  the  war 
closed  her  in.  The  son  of  George  Mendenhall 
became  her  most  bitter  antagonist,  because  he  re- 
garded the  negroes  as  his  property  and  disregarded 
the  expressed  desire  of  his  father  that  they  should 
be  freed.  Under  all  of  these  difficulties  she  bore 
herself  as  a  prophetess  of  old  might  have  done  and 
was  supported  by  the  clearest  sense  of  the  divine 
presence.  The  care  of  such  a  household  during  the 
perilous  days  of  the  war  was  a  burden  great  enough 
to  tax  the  powers  of  the  strongest  men,  but  she 
patiently  met  the  days  as  best  she  could  and  cared 


DELPHINA  E.  MENDENHALL        237 

lovingly  and  tenderly  for  every  one  and  all  loved 
her. 

Property  depreciated,  state  bonds  became  just 
so  much  paper,  horses  died  and  there  was  no  money 
with  which  to  purchase  new  ones.  Many  mouths 
were  to  be  filled,  many  persons  to  be  clothed. 
Her  native  resources  were  great  and  she  managed 
to  control  matters  tintil  relief  came  at  the  surrender. 

Although  at  the  close  of  the  war  her  mode  of  life 
was  almost  entirely  changed  and  she  was  reduced  to 
one  small  carriage,  one  horse  and  a  little  negro  for 
driver,  she  never  slackened  her  attendance  from 
meeting  and  her  saintly  face  in  the  gallery  of  the  old 
Deep  River  Meeting-house  is  one  of  the  most  pre- 
cious memories  to  many  a  young  man  and  woman  in 
the  body  of  the  meeting. 

Her  influence  over  the  young  people  was  un- 
bounded, because  they  all  knew  that  she  loved 
them  and  sympathized  with  their  feelings.  She 
was  always  ready  to  join  in  the  meeting  of  their 
literary  clubs  and  to  encourage  them  to  go  forward 
in  their  educational  efforts.  No  one  could  so  enter- 
tain a  roomful  of  young  people  with  charming  remi- 
niscences or  recite  verses  or  exhibit  quick  repartee 
or  sweet-spirited  jest. 

Her  face  and  form  were  as  beautiful  as  her  char- 
acter and  her  bearing  as  queenly  as  Elizabeth  Fry's 
must  have  been  if  the  portraits  are  a  correct  repre- 
sentation. The  Friends  dress  was  wonderfully  be- 
coming and  the  soft  material  and  shining  silk  worn 
in  antebellum  days  adorned  her  person  with- 
out attracting  the  thoughts  from  herself  to  her 
clothes. 

She  was  very  averse  to  contention  in  a  Friends 


238   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

meeting  and  seldom  participated  in  a  debate. 
Once  when  such  had  been  rather  more  heated  than 
loving,  after  meeting  she  remarked,  "  It  worried  me. 
I  wished  that  I  were  out  of  the  gallery  and  sitting 
down  there  between  M.  W.  and  his  wife."  These 
persons  had  been  married  but  a  few  days  and  no 
doubt  were  very  happy  and  contented  with  them- 
selves, and  their  company  would  have  be^i  more  to 
her  taste  than  that  of  wrangling  elders.  She  ab- 
horred "tale-bearing  and  detraction"  and  some  of 
her  most  forceful  expressions  were  directed  against 
this  sin. 

For  years  she  was  clerk  of  North  Carolina  Meeting 
and  a  most  competent  one.  Afterwards  during  the 
remainder  of  her  life  she  sat  at  the  head  of  the 
woman's  meeting.  Her  expressions  were  full  and 
clear,  for  she  had  the  mind  of  Christ  and  clothed  her 
thoughts  in  perfect  English. 

Her  interest  in  the  work  of  the  Baltimore  Associa- 
tion and  her  enthusiasm  over  its  progress  were  xm- 
bounded,  and  in  every  way  possible  she  aided  in 
advancing  the  cause.  As  Ezra  Meader  was  leaving 
his  New  England  home  to  come  South  and  engage 
in  the  work  of  teaching  in  the  schools  of  the  Associa- 
tion and  had  told  John  G.  Whittier,  an  old  friend  of 
his  family,  that  he  intended  first  to  go  to  the  home 
of  Delphina  Mendenhall,  Whittier  said,  "  Delphina — 
why,  she  is  a  whole  quarterly  meeting  in  herself. " 

When  the  summons  came  to  come  up  higher 
she  was  so  ready  and  willing  to  go  as  to  almost  hurt 
those  who  loved  her.  Not  a  shadow  in  her  way, 
not  a  wish  in  her  mind  to  linger,  ready,  willing, 
almost  jubilant,  she  entered  into  her  rest  with  the 
request  that  her  dear  nephew,  Nereus  Mendenhall, 


DELPHINA  E.  MENDENHALL        239 

who  had  loyally  stood  by  her  in  every  emergency, 
should  close  her  peaceful  eyes. 

At  the  funeral  a  near  relative  was  heard  to  say, 
"  I  do  not  feel  that  we  have  any  more  right  to  be 
seated  near  her  than  any  one  else  in  this  room,  for  all 
are  chief  mourners." 

The  household  is  scattered,  the  old  home  place 
sold  and  in  the  possession  of  strangers,  but  her 
influence  and  the  benediction  of  her  love  and  life  live 
on  and  can  never  perish. 


Chapter  XXVI 

PREPARATIONS  FOR  A  VISIT  TO  GREAT 
BRITAIN 

During  the  summer  of  1874,  having  held  the 
Bible  conference  and  closed  the  normal  school,  my 
wife  and  I  took  our  family  and  went  West  to  our  old 
home  for  a  visit  to  our  parents  and  many  relatives. 
It  was  a  pleasant  visit.  I  had  a  minute  to  attend 
Western  and  Indiana  Yearly  Meetings.  It  was  on 
this  visit  that  I  attended  the  second  general  meeting 
held  by  Indiana  Yearly  Meeting,  at  Back  Creek,  in 
the  limits  of  northern  quarter.  It  proved  a  blessing 
to  many  and  opened  the  door  to  continue  the  work 
along  that  line. 

For  a  number  of  years  the  feeling  had  rested 
with  me  that  at  some  future  time  it  woiild  be  right 
for  me  to  visit,  in  the  love  of  the  Gospel,  Friends 
across  the  ocean.  One  day,  while  sitting  in  Indiana 
Yearly  Meeting,  I  .believed  it  right  to  ask  the  privi- 
lege of  paying  a  visit  to  the  women's  meeting,  which 
was  freely  granted.  When  I  retiimed  and  took  my 
seat  it  came  upon  me  with  an  overwhelming  force 
that  the  time  had  now  come  for  me  to  make  prepara- 
tions for  that  religious  service  on  the  other  side  of  the 
ocean.  The  next  thirty  minutes  was  a  time  of  great 
spiritual  conflict.  My  infirmities,  leaving  my  family 
in  North  Carolina,  away  from  all  relatives,  going 
among  those  whom  I  had  never  seen,  and  many  other 
things  came  before  me,  but  in  thirty  minutes  the 

(240) 


VISIT  TO  GREAT  BRITAIN  241 

matter  was  settled ;  the  conflict  was  over ;  I  had  said 
"yes."  Immediately  there  was  a  calm,  and  I 
began  to  plan  how  to  make  the  arrangements.  At 
the  close  of  the  session  I  told  my  father  that  I  wished 
to  walk  with  him  to  town,  and  told  him  what  I  had 
decided  to  do.  We  walked  in  silence  until  we 
reached  the  postoffice,  when  he  said:  "I  do  not 
feel  like  discouraging  thee.  On  the  other  hand,  if  I 
had  known  it  in  time,  I  do  not  know  but  what  I 
would  have  gotten  ready  and  gone  with  thee." 
That  night  I  wrote  and  mailed  a  letter  to  our 
monthly  meeting  at  Springfield,  North  Carolina, 
requesting  a  minute  liberating  me  to  visit  London 
and  Dublin  Yearly  Meetings  and  the  yearly  meet- 
ings in  Norway,  and  the  meetings  and  Friends 
belonging  to  them  as  the  way  might  open,  and  to 
such  other  service  as  might  appear  right.  When 
we  returned  to  North  Carolina,  I  found  that  the 
monthly  meeting  had  endorsed  my  concern,  and  the 
following  week  the  quarterly  meeting  did  the  same. 
A  few  days  later  I  laid  the  matter  before  the  select 
yearly  meeting,  and  then,  in  accordance  with  the 
discipline  at  that  time,  I  brought  it  before  a  joint 
session  of  the  yearly  meeting  at  large,  which  proved 
to  be  a  time  of  great  spiritual  blessing,  and  I  wish 
to  mention  one  thing  especially  which  was  a  great 
comfort  to  me :  A  large  number  of  the  young  people 
with  much  feeling  expressed  their  unity  and  sym- 
pathy with  me  and  my  concern.  This  was  in  the 
Eleventh  month.  The  next  few  weeks  were  devoted 
to  completing  my  arrangements.  My  passage  was 
engaged  on  the  steamer  Ohio,  that  sailed  from 
Philadelphia  the  first  of  Third  month,  1875.  My 
dear  friends,  Francis  T.  King,  of  Baltimore,  and  James 

16 


242   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

M.  Whitall,  of  Philadelphia,  were  particularly  helpful 
in  making  the  necessary  arrangements.  Many 
expressions  of  sympathy  and  love  were  given  by  our 
dear  friends  both  to  me  and  to  my  dear  wife,  but 
perhaps  none  of  them  made  a  more  lasting  impres- 
sion on  my  mind  than  that  of  a  dear  old  colored 
woman  who  went  by  the  name  of  Aunt  Jenny.  No 
one  knew  how  old  she  was.  She  could  not  read  or 
write,  and  had  been  a  slave,  but  all  who  knew 
her  had  confidence  in  her  Christianity.  Her 
old  master,  when  he  came  to  die,  turned  from  the 
minister  and  said :  "  I  want  Aunt  Jenny  to  come  and 
pray  for  me."  She  lived  in  a  little  cabin  by  the 
roadside,  and  had  a  little  garden  back  of  it  which 
she  tended,  and  what  she  raised  on  that  patch  and 
the  provisions  given  to  her  by  her  friends  kept  her. 
The  white  young  people  were  very  fond  of  her  and 
loved  to  hear  her  talk,  especially  of  her  religious 
experience.  They  would  go  in  to  take  something 
for  her  and  then  listen  while  she  told  of  her  expe- 
rience. All  who  knew  her  believedvthat  she  "  walked 
with  God."  I  was  to  start  on  my  journey  one 
night.  That  afternoon  my  wife  and  I  went  to  call 
upon  some  of  our  friends,  as  I  wished  to  bid  them 
farewell  before  leaving.  As  we  passed  along  by 
Aunt  Jenny's  cabin,  my  wife  suggested  that  I  go  in 
and  bid  her  farewell.  Feeling  tired,  and  perhaps 
a  little  depressed,  I  was  inclined  to  omit  it,  but  my 
wife  stopped  the  horse,  got  out  of  the  buggy,  and 
went  in  and  told  her  that  I  was  going  away  across 
the  ocean  to  preach  the  Gospel,  and  asked  her  to 
come  out  and  bid  me  good-bye.  She  came  out  in 
her  cheerful  way,  and,  coming  up  to  me,  said :  "  Well, 
honey,  is  you  going  away  to  preach  the  Gospel  across 


VISIT  TO  GREAT  BRITAIN  243 

the  ocean?"  And  then:  "I  don't  know  where  that 
is,  but  I  expect  it's  a  long  ways  off.  Well,  honey, 
you  tell  the  sinners  if  they  don't  repent  they'll  be 
lost.  Tell  the  Christians  to  hold  on  and  they'll  get 
to  heaven."  When  I  took  hold  of  her  hand  to  bid 
her  farewell,  she  saw  that  my  wife  was  affected  by 
the  prospect  of  our  separation,  and  she  put  her  arms 
around  her,  saying,  "  Don't  cry,  honey,  the  Lord  will 
take  care  of  you  and  the  children.  You  will  all  be 
well  while  he  is  gone,  and  the  Lord  will  bring  him 
home  safely  and  you  will  live  together  many  years.  " 
Then,  putting  her  other  arm  around  me,  she  said: 
"But,  honey,  I  won't  be  here  when  you  come  back. 
The  Lord  will  send  for  me  before  then."  After  I 
had  been  gone  about  three  months  I  received  a  letter 
from  my  wife  saying  that  Aunt  Jenny  had  died. 
Some  of  our  young  friends  had  gone  in  one  morn- 
ing to  take  her  something  to  eat.  She  was  very 
busy  cleaning  up  the  cabin,  and  was  very  glad 
to  see  them,  and  entertained  them  with  her  pleasant 
conversation.  Finally  one  of  them  suggested  that 
the  time  had  come  when  they  must  go.  She  said: 
"No,  honeys;  I  am  not  ready  for  you  to  go  yet. 
Wait  a  little  while."  They  sat  quiet  for  a  few 
minutes,  wondering  what  she  wanted,  when  she 
looked  up  and  said:  "I  hear  the  chariot  wheels 
coming.  The  Lord  has  sent  after  me."  She  went 
and  lay  down  on  the  bed,  and  in  five  minutes  she 
"  was  not,  for  God  had  taken  her. " 


Chapter  XXVII 

AMONG  FRIENDS  IN  IRELAND 

Having  completed  my  arrangements,  I  left  home 
on  Third  month  i,  1875,  for  Philadelphia,  and 
stopped  with  James  M.  Whitall  until  Third  month 
4,  when  I  went  on  board  the  steamship  Ohio,  of 
the  American  Line,  at  8  A.  M.,  bound  for  Liverpool. 
We  had  a  pleasant  sail  down  the  Delaware,  and  at 
3  P.  M.  our  pilot  left  us  and  we  continued  our  long 
jotimey  across  the  ocean.  It  was  new  to  me,  and  I 
was  soon  seasick  and  suffered  much  for  seventy- two 
hours,  after  which  I  began  to  eat  a  little  and  was  soon 
well  and  enjoyed  the  remainder  of  the  voyage,  which 
was  rather  rough  and  stormy.  However,  we  reached 
Queenstown  on  the  morning  of  the  13th.  Standing 
on  the  deck  of  the  tender  as  we  approached  the 
wharf,  I  saw  an  old  Friend  with  his  broad-brimmed 
hat.  I  turned  to  a  fellow-passenger  and  remarked, 
"There  is  the  man  I  am  going  home  with."  As  I 
stepped  on  the  dock,  he  reached  out  his  hand  and 
said,  "Welcome,  Allen  Jay,  to  Ireland."  This 
Friend  was  Benjamin  Haughton,  the  father  of  the 
present  Benjamin  Haughton,  with  whom  my  wife 
and  I  made  our  home  during  our  last  visit  to  Ireland 
eight  years  ago.  We  had  never  met  before.  He 
turned  to  the  officer  and  said,  "I'll  stand  good  that 
there  is  nothing  that  requires  duty  in  this  baggage. " 
The  officer  put  his  mark  upon  it,  and  in  a  few 
minutes  we  were  on  our  way  to  Cork,  some  twelve 

(244) 


AMONG  FRIENDS  IN  IRELAND      245 

or  fourteen  miles  distant.  Upon  reaching  his  home, 
he  took  me  to  my  room  and  said,  "This  is  thy  home 
while  in  Cork,"  adding,  "Dinner  will  be  ready  in 
thirty  minutes,"  and  left  me.  As  the  door  closed, 
dropping  into  a  chair,  a  real  homesickness  came  over 
me.  Here  I  was  in  Ireland,  and  had  never  met  any- 
one on  this  side  except  William  Green,  who  lived  in 
the  north  of  Ireland  and  whom  I  had  seen  while  in 
attendance  at  Western  Yearly  Meeting  several  years 
before.  But  there  was  no  time  to  dwell  on  dis- 
couragement. Dinner  would  be  ready  soon.  Making 
such  preparations  as  I  could,  I  went  down  to  the 
dining-room,  where  I  met  several  Cork  Friends  who 
had  come  in  to  bid  me  welcome.  Among  the  nimi- 
ber  was  the  late  George  Grubb,  who  afterwards 
attended  the  Richmond  Conference  in  1887,  when 
I  had  the  pleasure  of  welcoming  him  to  our  home. 
He  had  good  conversational  powers  and,  to  a  large 
degree,  the  gift  almost  universal  among  Irish  Friends 
to  make  visitors  feel  at  home.  This  is  a  quality 
that  should  be  cultivated  in  every  family.  Those 
who  have  never  traveled  among  strangers  do  not 
realize  the  help  it  is  to  get  into  a  home  and  feel  that 
you  are  welcome.  It  will  be  a  beautiful  recollection 
in  my  life  as  I  look  back  to  my  first  landing  in 
Ireland  an  entire  stranger.  The  cordial  greeting 
that  followed  caused  me  to  feel  that  I  was  welcome 
and  did  much  to  strengthen  me  for  the  work  I  had 
in  view. 

The  next  morning  Lydia  Pike,  wife  of  Ebenezer 
Pike,  who  had  sent  me  a  note  of  welcome  which 
was  handed  me  before  I  left  the  ship,  sent  her  car- 
riage after  me  to  take  me  out  to  lunch  at  their 
beautiful    home.     It    was    an    introduction    to    a 


246   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

wealthy  home  which  was  pervaded  with  a  Christian 
spirit.  They  had  several  lovely  sons  and  daughters. 
The  father  and  sons  were  not  at  home,  but  the  two 
hours  spent  with  the  mother  and  her  daughters 
among  the  flowers  and  on  the  garden  walks  were 
cheering.  The  two  younger  daughters  each  had  a 
large  St.  Bernard  dog  that  walked  with  them  to  the 
dining-room  and  were  fed  while  we  partook  of  our 
lunch.  I  found  myself  busy  answering  all  the 
questions  that  were  put  to  me  about  the  United 
States  and  the  Friends  in  our  land.  Lunch  over,  I 
returned  to  the  city  and  took  the  afternoon  train  to 
Dublin,  spending  the  night  there,  and  next  morning 
went  to  Ulster  Quarterly  Meeting,  which  was  held 
at  Lisbum. 

I  was  met  at  the  station  by  a  Friend  and  hurried 
at  once  to  the  meeting-house,  where  I  gave  my 
simple  message,  this  being  the  first  time  I  had  under- 
taken to  preach  in  Ireland.  After  several  others 
had  spoken  came  a  recess  of  thirty  minutes  for  lunch, 
after  which  the  meeting  sat  down  again  and  trans- 
acted the  business.  I  was  taken  home  by  Joseph 
Richardson  and  family,  where  I  found  a  lovely 
home  and  a  nice  resting-place  during  my  stay  in  that 
part  of  Ireland.  My  wife  and  I  visited  the  same 
home  eight  years  ago,  but  it  was  different  then. 
The  parents  had  grown  old,  and  the  large  family  of 
children  had  nearly  all  gone  to  homes  of  their  own. 

Having  visited  the  principal  meetings  in  the 
north  of  Ireland,  I  returned  to  the  south  and  visited 
most  of  the  important  meetings  in  Munster  Quar- 
terly Meeting,  such  as  Cork,  Waterford  and  others. 
I  then  went  to  .  Mountmellick  to  attend  Leinster 
Quarterly  Meeting  and  some  of  the  meetings  com- 


AMONG  FRIENDS  IN  IRELAND      247 

posing  it  before  the  yearly  meeting.  When  the 
yearly  meeting  came  on  in  Dublin  it  was  my  privi- 
lege to  be  assigned  to  the  home  of  our  dear  friend, 
Adam  Woods,  at  Diindrum,  in  the  suburbs  of 
Dublin.  It  was  a  quiet  resting-place,  a  real  home, 
one  that  I  greatly  appreciated.  It  was  a  pleasure 
to  keep  up  a  correspondence  with  the  members  of 
the  family  long  afterwards.  The  dear  parents  have 
long  since  passed  beyond,  but  the  memory  of  those 
days  lives  bright  in  my  recollection.  Perhaps  the 
different  members  of  the  household  never  knew  the 
strength  and  comfort  they  were  to  a  weary  laborer 
during  the  strenuous  work  of  Dublin  Yearly  Meeting 
in  1875.  The  business  was  interesting  and  enjoyed. 
The  contrast  was  great  between  their  manner  of 
doing  business  and  that  of  some  of  our  large  Ameri- 
can yearly  meetings,  especially  those  in  the  West, 
but  it  was  refreshing  to  listen  to  their  frank,  cheerful 
and  outspoken  discussions.  While  they  spoke  their 
minds  freely,  yet  through  it  all  ran  the  spirit  of 
brotherly  love  and  Christian  kindness.  The  busi- 
ness was  transacted  in  harmony.  While  sitting  in 
the  meeting  one  day  I  was  impressed  with  the 
belief  that  it  would  be  right  for  me  to  appoint  a 
meeting  for  the  young  people.  I  rose  at  a  suitable 
time  and  informed  the  meeting  of  my  concern.  It 
was  soon  evident  that  it  was  something  unusual 
and  that  there  was  a  little  fear  that  there  might  be 
some  young  Americanism  in  it.  But  after  a  time 
of  silence,  dear  Samuel  Bewley  rose  and  said  that 
while  it  was  something  out  of  the  usual  line,  yet  he 
did  not  feel  like  discouraging  it,  and  he  proposed 
that  a  judicious  committee  be  appointed  to  take  it 
into  consideration  and  report  to  a  future  sitting. 


248   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

It  was  united  with,  and  a  committee  appointed 
which  reported  to  the  next  meeting  in  favor  of  the 
proposition.  When  the  question  of  time  was 
brought  up,  several  wished  it  postponed  so  that  they 
could  send  home  for  their  children.  The  evening  of 
the  next  day  was  selected.  It  was  evident  that 
there  was  much  interest  in  the  subject,  and  on  the 
part  of  some  of  the  older  Friends  a  little  uneasiness. 
As  for  myself,  there  was  earnest  prayer  that  I  might 
simply  do  the  will  of  my  Heavenly  Father.  When 
the  hour  came,  the  meeting-room  was  packed  with 
a  company  of  noble  young  people.  But  few  old 
people  were  present.  When  I  arrived,  Samuel 
Bewley  was  at  the  door  waiting  for  me.  Taking  me 
by  the  arm,  he  led  me  up  to  the  front  of  the  meeting 
and  sat  down  by  me.  A  solemn  feeling  settled 
down  over  the  company,  and  a  living  silence  held 
all  under  its  precious  influence.  After  a  time  I  rose 
and  spoke  some  thirty  minutes,  then,  after  a  pause, 
knelt  in  vocal  prayer.  While  I  was  speaking,  many 
were  in  tears,  which  was  even  more  manifest  during 
prayer.  After  closing,  all  was  still  except  the  sounds 
of  weeping.  Soon  a  young  person  spoke,  and  then 
another,  until  it  was  said  that  some  thirty  or  forty 
who  had  never  spoken  before  had  given  vocal  ex- 
pression either  in  testimony  or  prayer.  The  feeling 
became  so  deep  and  general  that  I  became  fearful 
lest  it  might  result  in  so  much  excitement  that  it 
might  prove  hurtful  to  the  cause  among  the  con- 
servative members,  so  I  made  a  motion  to  close  the 
service,  when  Samuel  Bewley  rose  and  in  a  tender 
voice  said,  "This  is  marvelous  in  my  eyes,"  and 
added  that  he  hoped  all  would  be  faithful.  His 
words  opened  the  way  for  others  to  come  out  and 


AMONG  FRIENDS  IN  IRELAND      249 

place  themselves  on  the  Lord's  side.     This  meeting 
closed  about  ten.     The  effect  was  to  be  seen  and  felt 
the  next  day  in  the  meeting.     Many  came  to  me  with 
words  of   appreciation  for  the   blessing   that   had 
resulted  to  them  or  their  families.     Two  days  later 
several  of  the  young  people  came  and  wanted  me 
to  appoint  another  meeting.     I  felt  it  would  be  best 
to  encourage  them  to  send  up  a  request  to  the  meet- 
ing themselves,  which  they  did.     When  some  one 
in  the  meeting  asked  if  I  had  felt  any  concern,  my 
reply  was,  "If  the  meeting  is  held,  I  hope  to  be 
there."     It  was  held  the  following  night,  and  there 
was  a  greater  number  present  than  before,  many  of 
them  being  from  among  the  dear  old  people.     It 
proved  to  be  a  wonderful  meeting,  for  the  Lord  was 
manifest.     Before  I  had  said  a  word,  a  number  of 
the  young  people  spoke.     It  was  easy  to  deliver  the 
message,  and  when  I  was  through  the  testimonies 
and  prayers  continued  until  I  had  to  close  the  meet- 
ing in  order  to  catch  the  last  train  for  Dundnmi. 
My  heart  was  brought  near  to  the  dear  yoimg  Friends 
of  Dublin  Yearly  Meeting,  and  I  left  them  with  the 
prayer  that  the  good  work  might  go  on  and  that 
many  of  them  might  be  used  of  the  Lord  in  building 
up  His  kingdom.     Eight  years  ago,  when  visiting 
all  the  meetings  of  Ireland,  I  met  some  who  are  now 
active  in  church  work  who  look  back  to  those  meet- 
ings as  a  starting  point  in  their  Christian  life.     My 
interest  in  the  yoimg  people  preceded  me  to  England 
and  resulted  in  my  receiving  invitations  to  hold 
young  people's  meetings  in  the  limits  of  London 
Yearly  Meeting,  and  in  my  being  invited  to  tea- 
meetings  and  young  people's  associations  wherever 
I  went.     It  was  during  the  yearly  meeting  following 


2 so   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

this,  in  London,  that  I  took  an  active  part  in  founding 
and  organizing  the  Young  Friends  Christian  Fellow- 
ship Union,  which  has  continued  until  the  present 
time,  and  when  in  London  eight  years  ago  I 
was  invited  to  address  the  annual  meeting  held 
during  the  yearly  meeting.  This  organization  was 
brought  to  this  country  and  adopted  in  several 
yearly  meetings,  but  has  now  mostly  given  place  to 
the  Christian  Endeavor  organization  in  most  of  our 
American  yearly  meetings, 


Chapter  XXVII 

AT  LONDON  YEARLY  MEETING 

At  the  close  of  the  yearly  meeting  I  remained  in 
Ireland  until  the  Second-day  following,  being  at 
Monktown  on  First-day  morning,  and  at  a  meeting 
near  Dundrum  in  the  evening.  I  had  now  attended 
all  the  larger  meetings  in  the  yearly  meeting,  and 
the  Brookfield  School  for  boys  and  girls,  and  the 
Lisbum  School,  also  for  boys  and  girls,  in  the  north 
of  Ireland.  I  had  also  been  at  Mountmellick 
Boarding-school  for  Girls,  and  Newtown  Boarding- 
school  for  Boys,  at  Waterford,  and  I  will  add  that 
I  specially  enjoyed  visiting  those  schools.  So  on 
Second-day  morning  I  took  the  train  to  the  boat, 
crossed  over  to  Hollyhead,  and  went  by  the  first 
train  to  London,  where  I  arrived  in  the  evening  and 
was  met  at  the  station  by  my  dear  friend,  Joseph 
Bevan  Braithwaite,  who  took  me  to  his  home  at 
3T2  Camden  Road,  N.,  where  I  found  a  warm  wel- 
come, and  not  only  then  but  several  times  since, 
imtil  I  have  felt  almost  like  calling  it  my  London 
home.  Many  of  our  American  Friends  who  have 
visited  London  at  various  times  during  the  last 
thirty  or  forty  years  can  bear  testimony  to  the 
same  experience.  The  father  and  mother,  with  their 
nine  children,  all  of  whom  were  at  home,  soon  made 
me  feel  that  I  was  one  of  the  circle.  I  enjoyed  the 
social  and  religious  atmosphere  of  the  home  life  very 
much.     Joseph  Bevan  Braithwaite  was  a  remarkable 

(251) 


252   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

man,  a  great  student,  having  an  extensive  library, 
and  his  mind  stored  with  a  fund  of  useful  knowledge 
upon  all  subjects,  so  that  his  conversation  was 
always  elevating  and  instructive.  Sitting  down  on 
a  First-day  afternoon  while  there  to  read  the  Bible 
for  an  hour,  which  was  customary  when  there  was 
nothing  to  hinder,  I  heard  it  read  in  six  or  seven 
different  languages,  no  one  reading  in  English  but 
myself.  He  had  visited  America  in  1865,  just  after 
the  close  of  the  war,  having  for  his  companion  Joseph 
Crosfield.  They  were  in  North  Carolina,  and  gave 
some  aid  and  advice  to  Friends,  F.  T.  King  con- 
sulting especially  with  Joseph  Crosfield  about  how 
he  found  things  down  there.  J.  B.  Braithwaite 
visited  the  United  States  and  Canada  several  times, 
so  that  he  became  well  posted  about  the  condition 
and  welfare  of  oiu*  Church  in  this  country,  and  did 
much  valuable  labor  in  several  of  the  yearly  meetings 
on  this  continent.  I  shall  have  occasion  to  allude 
more  fully  to  his  work  in  connection  with  the 
Richmond  Conference  of  1887,  as  a  delegate  from 
London  Yearly  Meeting,  which  I  will  speak  of  when 
I  come  to  tell  of  the  organization  of  the  Five  Years 
Conference  which  resulted  in  the  establishment  of 
the  Five  Years  Meeting. 

The  next  morning  after  my  arrival  was  the 
Meeting  of  Ministry  and  Oversight,  held  at  Devon- 
shire House.  It  was  a  large  and  solid  body.  It  was 
a  good  time  for  me  to  sit  and  learn.  My  earnest 
prayer  was  that  I  might  be  kept  in  my  proper  place 
throughout  the  various  sessions  of  the  yearly  meet- 
ing. I  had  often  looked  forward  to  being  in  this 
yearly  meeting,  and  now  I  was  there  in  the  midst 
of  those  whom  I  had  heard  about  but  never  seen. 


AT  LONDON  YEARLY  MEETING     253 

This  was  historic  ground,  and  there  were  men  around 
me  who  had  helped  to  make  history  in  our  Church; 
such  men  as  Isaac  Brown,  Isaac  Sharp,  Joseph  Storrs 
Fry,  Edward  Backhouse,  Charles  Tyler,  Charles 
Brady.  Thomas  Harvey,  Caleb  Kemp,  Henry  Wilson, 
John  Bright,  Arthvir  Pease,  Stafford  Allen,  Arthur 
Albright  and  George  Gillett,  and  among  the  women, 
Hannah  Stafford  Allen,  Christine  Alsop,  Sarah  S. 
B.  Clark,  Martha  Braithwaite,  and  many  others 
whose  names  are  familiar  to  those  who  attended 
London  Yearly  Meeting.  It  was  said  at  that  time 
that  there  were  some  eighteen  members  of  the  Society 
of  Friends  who  were  members  of  Parliament.  I  do 
not  know  whether  this  was  strictly  true  or  not. 

The  first  thing  that  impressed  me  upon  sitting 
down  in  the  yearly  meeting  was  the  deep  solemnity 
that  settled  over  the  congregation.  One  felt  that 
each  was  engaged  in  prayer,  trying  to  get  in  touch 
with  God  for  himself.  The  silence  was  real.  God 
was  with  His  people,  and  they  were  learning  from 
Him  first-hand.  How  different  from  some  other 
yearly  meetings  where  it  appears  to  some  that 
nothing  is  going  on  unless  some  vocal  expression  is 
heard!  I  do  not  wonder  that  Charles  Spurgeon, 
who  had  attended  all  the  sessions  of  a  previous  yearly 
meeting,  said  at  the  close,  as  nearly  as  I  can  remem- 
ber, something  like  this:  "London  Yearly  Meeting 
is  the  greatest  deliberative  body  I  have  ever  sat  in, 
and  no  other  religious  body  could  conduct  its  delib- 
erations in  the  harmony  and  unity  it  does  and  arrive 
at  satisfactory  conclusions  without  a  moderator  or 
presiding  officer.  To  me  it  appeared  to  be  a  prac- 
tical recognition  of  the  headship  of  Christ. "  Under 
this  feeling  it  was  no  light  thing  to  break  the  silence 


254  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

in  their  meeting  for  worship,  and  when  anyone  did 
it  was  felt  that  he  had  something  to  say,  something 
that  was  in  harmony  with  the  spirit  of  the  meeting, 
and  if  others  followed,  they  continued  in  the  same 
line,  and  the  result  was  to  carry  the  congregation  in 
the  direction  of  a  real  spiritual  blessing.  There  was 
a  freedom  from  overwrought  human  excitement, 
no  endeavor  to  build  on  the  emotions  such  as  is  often 
seen  in  those  who  are  anxious  to  make  a  demon- 
stration in  the  audience,  the  object  being  to  carry 
the  mind  and  heart  in  unison,  so  when  the  decision 
in  the  soul  was  reached  it  might  be  real  and  lasting. 
In  the  business  portions  of  the  yearly  meeting  my 
mind  was  impressed  with  the  freedom  given  in 
discussion.  While  in  our  American  yearly  meetings 
one  or  two  will  give  their  opinions  rather  freely,  and 
the  great  body  of  the  meeting  will  be  satisfied  with 
simply  saying,  "I  unite  with  that,"  or  "I  do  not 
unite  with  it,"  here  each  one  took  time  to  explain 
his  views,  and  sometimes  at  considerable  length. 
Another  feature  of  the  discussion  which  rather 
shocked  me  at  first  was  the  perfect  freedom  with 
which  they  gave  their  views  without  regard  to  the 
views  of  others.  Sometimes  it  would  appear  as 
though  there  was  some  warmth  of  feeling  towards 
those  who  differed  from  them,  but  when  an  individ- 
ual had  said  what  he  had  to  say,  he  was  done,  and 
as  a  rule  did  not  speak  again  without  the  consent  of 
the  clerk.  Another  thing  I  noticed  was  that  the 
speakers  were  expected  to  speak  on  the  subject  or 
be  reminded  as  to  what  the  matter  was  before  the 
meeting,  and  when  the  clerks  at  the  table  had  con- 
sulted and  the  clerk  had  prepared  and  read  his 
minute,  it  was  very  rare  that  anything  was  said. 


AT  LONDON  YEARLY  MEETING     255 

One  of  the  beautiful  things  about  the  whole  matter 
was  that  when  the  session  closed  and  they  went  out 
and  met  socially,  there  was  rarely  any  talking  it 
over  again.  They  acted  as  though  the  subject  was 
entirely  closed.  No  one  appeared  to  think  that  if 
he  did  not  get  his  way  everything  was  going  wrong. 

But  perhaps  the  thing  that  impressed  me  more  at 
that  time  than  anything  else  was  the  position  that 
the  women's  meeting  occupied  in  the  yearly  meeting. 
The  men's  meeting  was  London  Yearly  Meeting. 
The  women's  meeting  held  a  subordinate  place. 
Their  business  was  confined  to  matters  pertaining  to 
women's  affairs  in  a  great  measure.  Belonging  to 
a  yearly  meeting  where  women  were  on  an  equality 
with  men,  and  where  any  disciplinary  matter  was 
not  legal  unless  it  had  the  approval  of  the  women's 
meeting,  it  was  rather  hard  for  me  to  be  reconciled 
to  the  position  that  the  women  occupied.  On  at- 
tending the  yearly  meeting  a  few  years  ago  I  found 
a  great  change  in  this  respect.  Nearly  all  their 
sessions  were  held  jointly  with  the  women,  and  they 
were  taking  part  in  all  the  affairs  of  the  Church 
similarly  to  our  American  women. 

It  was  during  this  yearly  meeting,  as  I  have 
mentioned  in  the  preceding  chapter  that  in  one 
of  the  rooms  of  Devonshire  House  I  met  with  the 
young  people,  and  the  Young  Friends  Christian 
Fellowship  Union  was  formed.  The  reports  of  the 
same  continue  to  come  to  me,  which  I  much  enjoy. 
It  was  the  beginning  also  of  my  becoming  interested 
in  the  adult  school  work  through  meeting  with  their 
workers  and  hearing  them  talk  over  their  methods 
of  proceeding  in  various  portions  of  the  yearly 
meeting.     It  was  a  very  instructive  lesson  to  visit 


2  56    AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

the  work  at  Bedford  Institute  and  the  adult  school 
work  at  Bunhill  Field,  where  George  Fox  and  many 
of  our  early  Friends  were  buried.  Joseph  Bevan 
Braithwaite,  Jr.,  was  especially  interested  in  the 
Bunhill  Field  work.  It  was  helpful  to  visit  several 
of  these  mission  stations  and  mingle  socially  with 
them  at  their  tea-meetings  and  other  public  gather- 
ings. The  adult  school  work  is  a  great  work,  and 
has  grown  wonderfully.  It  was  started  some  fifty 
years  ago  by  Joseph  Sturge,  and  has  proven  a  bless- 
ing to  those  who  have  come  under  its  influence,  and 
also  to  those  who  have  given  of  their  time  and  means 
in  carrying  it  forward.  Through  its  workers,  also, 
it  has  had  a  reflex  influence  for  good  on  the  Church 
at  large, 


Chapter  XXIX 
ACQUAINTANCE  WITH  JOHN  BRIGHT 

One  of  the  richest  blessings  that  came  to  me 
from  attending  London  Yearly  Meeting  at  that 
time  was  my  meeting  and  acquaintance  with  John 
Bright,  and  the  following  sketch  of  this  acquaintance 
with  him  I  take  from  two  letters  written  to  my  wife, 
one  while  in  the  home  at  "One  Ash"  and  the  other 
three  days  later  while  in  Manchester.  Our  con- 
versation was  in  the  nature  of  a  friendly  talk  be- 
tween two  intimate  friends  rather  than  two  strangers. 
I  may  have  said  something  of  my  life  and  experience 
that  I  have  seldom  said  to  others.  We  used  the  old 
Friends'  style  of  language,  which  John  Bright  said 
he  was  not  in  the  habit  of  using  with  strangers. 

Before  leaving  home  I  had  said  to  my  wife  that 
I  hoped  John  Bright  would  attend  London  Yearly 
Meeting,  as  I  wished  to  see  him.  His  name  was 
dear  to  those  who  had  believed  in  the  preservation 
of  our  Union,  because  he  had  stood  by  the  Govern- 
ment during  the  Rebellion.  He  had  lifted  his  voice 
in  our  favor  in  the  dark  days  of  the  war  at  a  time 
when  Lincoln  feared  that  the  British  Government 
would  throw  its  influence  in  favor  of  recognizing 
slavery  and  dividing  our  nation. 

On  the  morning  of  the  first  session  of  the  business 

meeting,  upon  taking  my  seat  by  the  side  of  Isaac 

Sharp,  I  saw  John  Bright  in  the  meeting.     It  was 

unnecessary   for   anyone   to   point  him   out.     His 

17  (257) 


2S8   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

features  were  familiar,  for  I  had  seen  them  often  in 
our  public  newspapers.  The  next  thought  was  that 
I  hoped  to  hear  him  speak  on  business  and  that  in 
some  way  I  might  be  permitted  to  shake  hands  with 
him,  but  I  secretly  resolved  that'I  would  not  act 
foolishly  nor  put  myself  forward  improperly  in 
order  to  do  so.  Yet  I  soon  had  an  opportunity  to 
do  both  and  much  more  than  I  had  dared  to  hope. 
The  next  day  a  matter  came  before  the  meeting  in 
which  he  differed  from  some  of  the  speakers,  espe- 
cially Arthur  Albright,  who  was  at  one  time,  I  be- 
lieve, also  a  member  of  Parliament.  He  replied  in 
a  clear  and  forceful  way.  There  was  no  misunder- 
standing what  he  meant.  Early  in  the  yearly 
meeting  a  devotional  meeting  was  held  in  both 
rooms.  It  was  my  desire  to  go  into  the  smaller 
room,  which  was  the  women's,  for  I  felt  it  would  be 
a  smaller  congregation.  While  speaking  I  saw  John 
Bright  looking  at  me.  After  the  meeting,  as  I 
walked  down  the  aisle,  he  stepped  out  in  front  of  me 
and  offering  me  his  hand  said,  "  Welcome,  Allen  Jay, 
to  England.  I  am  glad  I  heard  thee  to-day." 
Taking  me  by  the  arm  he  said,  "Come  and  go  with 
me  to  lunch. "  As  we  were  eating  he  asked  a  num- 
ber of  questions  and  kept  up  the  Conversation. 
When  the  time  came  to  go  into  the  afternoon  session 
he  said  on  parting,  "  When  thee  comes  to  Rochdale, 
'One  Ash' will  be  thy  home."  The  prospect  was 
pleasant  to  me,  yet  I  could  not  but  feel  that  amid 
his  many  public  and  private  duties  he  would  not 
think  of  it  again.  In  this  I  was  agreeably  mistaken. 
During  the  summer,  while  attending  the  general 
meeting  at  Ackworth,  his  daughter  reminded  me 
that  their  home  was  to  be  mine  when  I  visited  their 


JOHN  BRIGHT  259 

meeting.  When  the  word  was  sent,  some  time  in 
Eighth  month,  that  I  would  be  there  on  a  Fifth-day, 
John  Bright  answered.  "I  will  meet  Allen  Jay." 
On  reaching  the  station  the  door  was  opened  and  I 
stepped  out  with  a  small  bag  in  each  hand.  John 
Bright  was  there  and  took  one.  As  we  walked 
along  through  the  station  I  heard  one  man  say  to 
another,  "I  wonder  who  John  Bright  has  now." 
The  other  replied,  "An  American.  Look  at  his 
boots."  When  meeting  time  came  we  walked 
together  to  the  meeting-house  while  the  rest  of  the 
family  rode  in  the  carriage.  When  we  arrived  he 
took  me  to  my  seat  and  then  went  to  his  own.  At 
the  close  of  meeting  his  wife  came  to  me  and  said, 
"  As  thee  is  tired,  remain  with  us  until  Seventh-day 
evening  and  then  go  on  to  Manchester  that  evening 
so  as  to  be  there  ready  for  First-day  morning. ' '  The 
plan  was  very  agreeable  to  me,  as  I  had  only  taken 
one  day's  rest  since  landing  in  Ireland  the  first  of 
Third  month. 

After  dinner  was  over  John  Bright  took  me  into 
the  library  and  after  we  had  sat  down  he  pointed  to 
a  picture  of  Richard  Cobden  hanging  on  the  wall 
and  said,  "  There  is  a  picture  of  one  of  the  best  men 
I  ever  knew."  He  then  commenced  and  gave  a 
short  history  of  the  Com  Laws,  telling  how  Richard 
Cobden,  just  after  his  first  wife  had  died  and  while 
he  was  sad  and  lonely,  came  to  him  and  said. 
"There  are  many  homes  in  England  that  are  sad 
to-day  because  of  the  Com  Laws,  and  I  have  come 
to  ask  you  to  join  with  me  and  let  us  consecrate 
ourselves  to  the  work  of  removing  these  laws,  thereby 
bringing  gladness  to  many  a  poor  home  in  England." 
I  have  often  wondered  why  John  Bright  should 


26o  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

have  done  as  he  did  that  afternoon  with  an  obscure 
American  who  had  no  claim  upon  his  time.  For 
about  two  hours  he  continued  to  give  a  hasty- 
review  of  his  Hfe  from  childhood,  told  of  his  ex- 
periences in  early  life,  of  his  entering  into  the  life  of 
a  statesman,  his  Com  Laws  experiences,  his  position 
and  experiences  in  regard  to  the  Crimean  war,  also 
of  the  battles  he  fought  in  our  behalf  in  connection 
with  the  Rebellion  in  the  United  States.  He  told 
me  how  President  Lincoln  sent  Henry  Ward  Beecher 
over  there  to  help  turn  the  tide  of  public  opinion 
away  from  the  South  and  towards  the  North.  He 
described  a  wonderful  meeting  that  was  held  in  a 
great  hall  in  London,  in  which  Henry  Ward  Beecher 
proved  himself  the  master  of  the  situation  when, 
after  an  hour's  interruption  from  those  who  opposed 
him,  he  rose  above  it  all  and  carried  the  audience 
with  him.  John  Bright  added,  "  I  regard  him  as 
the  greatest  platform  orator  I  have  ever  heard." 
As  we  sat  there  his  mail  was  brought  in.  He  laid  it 
aside  with  the  exception  of  one  letter,  saying,"  I  will 
read  this  one,  from  my  dear  friend  John  G.  Whittier." 
He  began  and  read  it  aloud.  It  was  a  strong  letter 
of  friendship  and  love  in  reply  to  one  that  he  had 
written  him.  It  was  a  treat  to  hear  how  these  two 
men  appreciated  each  other.  But  the  point  that 
claimed  my  attention  was  the  closing  sentence,  in 
which  Whittier  said  something  like  this:  "John 
Bright,  why  don't  thee  come  to  America?  If  thee 
will,  we  will  give  thee  the  greatest  ovation  that  any 
Englishman  ever  had. "  When  he  read  that  he 
turned  to  me  and  said,  "That  is  just  the  reason  I 
don't  go.  I  would  rather  go  to  America  than  any 
other  place  I  know  of,  and  a  few  years  ago  I  told 


JOHN  BRIGHT  261 

some  of  my  friends  that  I  had  decided  to  make  a 
visit  to  the  United  States.  The  newspapers  re- 
ported this  and  in  a  few  days  I  got  cablegrams  from 
the  leading  hotels  in  New  York,  Philadelphia, 
Boston,  Chicago  and  Washington,  each  telling  me 
that  I  cotdd  have  all  the  room  I  wanted  when  I 
reached  their  city.  Then  a  cablegram  came  from 
the  Pullman  Car  Company  telling  me  there  would 
be  a  train  waiting  for  me  with  parlor  and  dining  cars, 
to  take  me  wherever  I  wanted  to  go,  free  of  charge. 
Then  came  a  message  from  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  saying  I  must  be  the  nation's  guest 
and  make  my  home  at  the  Capitol.  I  saw  at  once 
that  they  were  going  to  make  a  hero  of  me  and  that 
they  would  kill  me,  so  I  had  to  give  it  up. "  I  en- 
deavored to  show  him  why  our  Government  and 
the  Northern  people  generally  appreciated  him  so 
highly.  His  simple  reply  was,  "  I  only  did  my  duty, 
and  our  people  now  begin  to  see  that  I  was  right. " 
Among  the  experiences  of  which  he  told,  connected 
with  his  public  life,  were  one  or  two  in  connection 
with  the  Queen.  When  appointed  to  a  position  in 
the  Queen's  Cabinet  he  had  this  experience :  It  was 
customary  for  those  appointed  to  go  in  before  the 
Queen  and  kneel  down  to  receive  their  commission, 
afterwards  kissing  her  hand.  The  day  before  he  was 
to  go  in  for  this  p\irpose  he  received  a  note  in  her 
own  handwriting  saying,  "The  members  of  your 
Church  do  not  believe  in  bowing  the  knee  to  any  one 
but  God.  Therefore  you  may  come  in  to-morrow 
and  receive  yours  in  a  way  consistent  with  your 
profession."  In  this  way  the  afternoon  was  spent, 
he  giving  reminiscences  of  his  political  life  and  I 
sitting  listening,  completely  enrapt  as  he  told  of 


262   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

various  incidents  in  his  experiences  and  incidentally 
brought  out  the  religious  side  of  his  character.  He 
said  that  he  believed  that  he  was  called  to  his  work 
as  a  statesman  as  distinctly  as  I  had  been  called  to 
the  work  of  the  ministry,  and  added  that  he  believed 
it  would  be  good  for  the  United  States  if  more 
Christian  men  would  give  themselves  to  a  political 
life  in  our  country,  for  he  thought  that  the  Lord  had 
led  him  in  the  course  that  he  had  pursued.  It  was 
a  rare  occasion  for  me.  He  told  of  some  incidents 
in  the  life  of  Gladstone  and  of  their  work  together. 
He  also  alluded  to  others  of  the  leading  men  of 
England  and  gave  his  opinion  of  them,  but  what  he 
had  to  say  of  our  own  statesmen  was  far  more  inter- 
esting to  me.  He  spoke  of  President  Lincoln,  Secre- 
tary Seward,  Charles  Sumner  and  others  of  our 
statesmen  with  a  freedom  and  frankness  that 
caused  me  to  appreciate  my  own  countrymen.  He 
was  especially  full  of  praise  for  our  martyred  Presi- 
dent and  for  the  great  work  which  he  did.  He  was 
a  warm  friend  of  our  Govemment.v  He  spoke  of  its 
faults  and  weaknesses,  yet  he  believed  that  it  would 
become  a  great  nation,  one  of  the  great  powers  of 
the  world,  though  he  felt  that  we  would  not  reach  the 
climax  of  our  greatness  for  many  years  to  come. 
He  felt  that  Friends  in  our  country  should  study 
our  government  more  and  take  a  greater  interest  in 
the  political  work  of  the  nation.  In  one  of  the  last 
letters  I  had  from  him,  while  I  was  superintendent 
of  Earlham  College,  he  expressed  a  desire  that  our 
young  men  would  prepare  themselves  for  important 
positions  in  the  government  service  and  cultivate 
a  love  of  country,  thereby  purifying  the  political 
life  of  the  nation. 


JOHN  BRIGHT  263 

The  next  day  we  went  out  to  take  a  ride  over  the 
old  road  leading  out  among  the  hills.  We  came  to 
where  the  road  woiuid  around  a  hill  in  order  to 
reach  the  top.  He  asked  the  driver  to  stop,  and 
getting  out  of  the  carriage  he  suggested  that  we 
walk  directly  up  the  hill  and  see  which  of  us  would 
first  reach  the  top.  We  started.  My  plan  was  to 
walk  by  his  side  imtil  near  the  end  and  then  forge 
ahead.  When  I  began  to  go  ahead  of  him  he 
laughingly  sat  down  and  said,  "  I  give  it  up. "  With 
a  laugh  I  said,  "John  Bright,  it  is  not  the  first  time 
that  John  Bull  has  had  to  give  up  to  yoimg  America." 
It  is  a  picture  in  my  mind  yet  how  he  looked  as 
he  shook  his  finger  at  me  and  with  a  forced  expres- 
sion of  seriousness  replied,  "Naughty!  it  was  bad 
enough  to  whip  us  without  laughing  about  it." 

On  reaching  the  top  of  the  hill  he  pointed  out 
a  spot  where  George  Fox  had  preached  and  added, 
"George  Fox  was  the  greatest  reformer  that  this 
world  has  known  since  the  days  of  the  apostles.  He 
saw  more  clearly  than  any  other  reformer  what  the 
spirit  of  the  gospel  would  do  and  the  changes  it 
would  produce  in  the  world  when  it  shaped  the 
lives  of  men.  He  spoke  of  oaths,  war,  slavery, 
religious  liberty  and  of  the  position  it  would  give 
women  in  the  church  and  in  the  ministry,  and  of 
other  great  reforms  such  as  temperance  and  freedom 
of  the  gospel.  In  its  beginning  the  Quaker  Church 
was  the  greatest  missionary  society  that  has  ever 
been  since  the  days  of  the  early  church.  He  saw  all 
these  things  and  to-day  the  world  is  beginning  to 
catch  glimpses  of  what  he  saw  clearly." 

It  was  a  spiritual  uplift  to  listen  to  John  Bright 
reading  the  Bible  at  the  morning  devotions.    There 


264   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

was  a  tenderness  that  came  into  his  voice  as  he  read 
some  of  the  psalms  that  was  genuine.  At  the  close  of 
one  of  these  services,  during  which  I  had  engaged  in 
vocal  supplication,  he  spoke  and  said,  "Some  say- 
that  there  is  no  God,  but  we  know  there  is  and  it 
is  sweet  to  know  that  He  is  with  us  and  strengthens 
us  for  His  service.  He  does  not  leave  us  alone." 
Speaking  at  one  time  of  his  public  service  he  said, 
"  If  I  have  achieved  any  success  as  a  public  speaker, 
I  owe  it  more  to  the  Bible  and  to  Milton's  Paradise 
Lost  than  to  any  other  books."  He  remarked  that 
all  true  poetry  is  more  or  less  inspired.  Milton's 
Paradise  Lost  was  his  favorite  outside  the  Bible.  I 
have  heard  others  say  that  he  could  repeat  a  large 
portion  of  it  from  memory. 

In  parting  with  me  at  the  close  of  the  quarterly 
meeting  at  Liverpool,  just  before  I  sailed  for  home, 
he  said,  "Some  of  us  have  loved  thee  because  thee 
has  been  thyself  and  not  tried  to  imitate  others, 
but  has  gone  ahead  and  delivered  the  message  as 
thee  has  seen  it. "  These  were  the  last  words  I  ever 
heard  him  speak.  When  I  was  in  London  in  1885 
he  was  sick  but  sent  word  for  me  to  come  and  see 
him.  I  had  made  other  engagements  and  did  not  go. 
Often  since  I  have  regretted  that  I  had  not  let  those 
other  things  go  and  had  gone  to  see  him.  While  he 
lived  we  occasionally  corresponded.  He  was  a 
wonderful  man  and  I  have  always  felt  that  it  was 
a  great  privilege  to  have  known  him.  He  was 
modest,  retiring  in  his  disposition,  shrinking  from 
publicity.  Once  while  I  was  walking  with  him  he 
overheard  some  one  say,  "There  goes  the  Honorable 
John  Bright. "  He  turned  to  me  and  said,  "That  is 
what  I  have  to  suffer  on  account  of  my  position.     If 


JOHN  BRIGHT  265 

I  could  only  go  along  as  a  private  citizen,  how  much 
more  pleasant  it  would  be!" 

While  in  England  eight  years  ago  with  my  wife, 
we  sent  an  appointment  to  attend  Rochdale  meet- 
ing on  a  certain  evening.  John  B right's  son,  who 
lived  in  the  old  home,  was  absent  with  his  family,  if 
I  remember  rightly,  in  France.  When  he  learned 
of  our  appointment,  however,  with  a  feeling  that 
I  greatly  appreciated,  he  wrote  me  saying  that  he 
was  sorry  they  were  away  and  that  the  servants 
had  the  house  very  much  torn  up  cleaning  and 
repairing,  but  remembering  his  father's  feeling  of 
friendship  for  me,  he  wanted  us  to  go  to  the  home, 
get  our  supper  and  rest  a  little  before  meeting. 
He  said  he  would  order  his  carriage  to  meet  us  at 
the  station  on  our  arrival  and  drive  directly  to 
"  One  Ash. "  He  hoped  we  would  feel  at  home  and 
enjoy  ourselves.  When  we  reached  the  house  and 
had  prepared  ourselves  for  the  meal,  I  went  into 
the  library  and  sat  down  in  the  chair  that  I  thought 
he  sat  in  twenty-five  years  before,  and  gave  myself 
up  to  meditation  until  called  to  supper.  It  was 
the  same  library  and  some  of  the  same  pictures  on 
the  walls.  The  afternoon's  conversation  twenty- 
five  years  before  came  up  vividly  in  my  memory  and 
I  lived  over  again  those  hours  which  were  among  the 
richest  in  my  life.  When  supper  was  ready  I  took 
my  wife  and  led  her  out  to  the  seat  where  his  wife 
had  sat.  I  took  the  chair  that  John  Bright  sat  in 
and  our  young  English  Friend  who  was  with  us  sat 
at  the  side  between  us.  For  me  it  was  living  over 
the  past.  We  went  to  the  meeting  a  little  early  and 
visited  his  grave,  then  went  into  the  meeting-house 
and  sat  down  until  the  Friends  had  come  in.     When 


266  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

meeting  had  gathered  I  took  my  place  and  after 
a  while  stood  up  and  delivered  the  message  I  felt 
called  upon  to  deliver  on  that  occasion.  At  the 
close  we  went  to  Manchester,  where  we  were  to  be 
the  next  day.  I  wrote  the  son  and  expressed  our 
appreciation  of  his  thoughtfulness  in  opening  the 
way  for  us  to  visit  "One  Ash." 


Chapter  XXX 

SOME  PROMINENT  ENGLISH  FRIENDS 

Our  friends,  Deborah  Thomas,  of  Baltimore,  and 
Mary  R.  Haines  her  companion  from  Philadelphia, 
were  also  in  attendance  at  London  Yearly  Meeting 
in  1875.  They  boarded  where  I  did,  at  Joseph 
Bevan  Braithwaite's.  They  were  at  the  yearly  meet- 
ing the  year  before,  and  during  the  yearly  meeting 
one  day  Deborah  Thomas  requested  the  privilege 
of  visiting  the  men's  meeting.  In  the  course  of  her 
communication  she  spoke  very  directly  to  some  one 
whom  she  believed  was  in  that  meeting  and  who  had 
felt  a  call  to  extensive  religious  service.  She  believed 
the  time  had  come  when  he  should  surrender  himself 
to  the  service  and  make  preparation  to  enter  upon 
it,  as  there  was  not  much  time  to  spare  if  he  finished 
the  work.  Our  dear  friend,  Stanley  Pumphrey,  was 
present  on  that  occasion,  and  believed  the  message 
was  meant  for  him,  as  he  had  long  felt  a  call  to  visit 
the  meetings  of  Friends  in  America.  During  the 
year  he  arranged  his  affairs  and  secured  the  endorse- 
ment of  his  monthly  and  quarterly  meetings,  and 
came  to  the  yearly  meeting  prepared  to  lay  the 
matter  before  the  meeting  of  ministers  and  elders  for 
their  endorsement.  On  Fifth  month  18,  1875,  he 
was  liberated  by  the  yearly  meeting  to  pay  a  religious 
visit  to  all  the  meetings  of  Friends  in  America.  He 
expected  that  it  would  require  four  or  five  years  to 
accomplish  all  that  he  had  on  his  heart.     There  was 

(267) 


268   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

much  unanimity  in  the  meeting  with  his  prospect, 
and  he  was  encouraged  to  be  faithful.  He  was  about 
to  engage  in  a  work  that  was  greatly  blessed  to  the 
various  American  yearly  meetings  and  that  brought 
him  into  close  touch  and  sympathy  with  Friends  and 
their  needs  in  this  land.  Perhaps  when  he  closed 
his  labors  in  oiu  cotmtry  no  English  Friend  of  that 
day  was  as  fully  posted  on  our  conditions  as  he  was, 
I  will  not  speak  more  of  Stanley  Pumphrey  now,  as 
I  shall  have  occasion  to  dwell  more  fully  upon  his 
labors  in  America  later. 

The  same  day  the  meeting  liberated  Isaac  Sharp, 
Robert  Doeg  and  myself  to  attend  the  yearly  meeting 
in  Norway,  beginning  on  the  14th  of  Sixth  month. 
We  were  also  liberated  to  perform  any  other  service 
we  thought  best  in  Norway,  Denmark  or  Germany. 

Caroline  E.  Talbot,  of  Ohio  Yearly  Meeting,  and 
her  husband  were  also  at  the  same  yearly  meeting. 
She  found  an  open  door  for  service  among  Friends, 
We  traveled  and  labored  together  considerably 
during  the  summer  in  different  parts  of  England, 

Isaac  Brown  was  a  dear  Friend  whom  I  had  met 
in  Ireland  during  Dublin  Yearly  Meeting,  who  mani- 
fested a  great  deal  of  kindness,  and  opened  the  way 
for  my  service  in  the  yearly  meeting.  Afterwards 
at  his  own  home  in  Kendal  he  and  his  wife  opened 
their  house,  which  was  called  "Brantholme,"  and  I 
stopped  with  them  several  days.  It  was  of  great 
benefit  to  me  in  my  future  work  to  become  ac- 
quainted with  this  dear  Friend,  We  kept  up  a 
correspondence  until  near  the  close  of  his  life,  and  his 
many  letters  were  very  instructive,  especially  in  my 
religious  work.  He  was  a  man  of  deep  spiritual  ex- 
perience.    He  had  been  a  teacher  for  fifty  years,  and 


ISAAC  BROWN. 


ENGLISH  FRIENDS  269 

told  me  that  he  had  never  been  late  to  classes  during 
that  time.  He  was  for  many  years  head  of  the 
Flounders  Institute,  which  was  established  near 
Ack worth,  and  where  many  went  to  complete  their 
higher  education  and  to  prepare  themselves  for 
teachers  and  for  other  useful  occupations.  He  had 
a  large  library,  and  had  given  much  attention  to 
biblical  study  and  research,  and  had  spent  much 
time  in  writing  commentaries  on  the  Bible — withal 
a  very  modest  and  unassuming  man.  He  deeply 
impressed  me  with  his  humility.  Especially  was 
this  manifest  in  his  public  ministry,  there  being 
nothing  dogmatic  or  dictatorial  in  his  communica- 
tions. 

I  was  sitting  one  day  in  his  library  reading 
when  he  came  in  and  sat  down.  At  once  I  felt  it 
would  be  a  good  time  for  me  to  find  out  the  meaning 
of  a  certain  portion  of  Scripture  that  I  had  heard 
explained  in  different  ways,  so,  turning  to  the  passage, 
I  said :  "  Isaac  Brown,  what  is  the  meaning  of  this 
passage  of  Scripture?"  With  a  smile  he  said:  "If 
thou  hadst  asked  me  that  question  forty  years  ago,  I 
would  have  given  thee  an  answer  in  a  minute, 
but  after  forty  years '  investigation  I  do  not  know  what 
it  means."  How  different  from  many  I  have  met, 
who  cannot  read  it  in  more  than  one  language,  yet  I 
have  heard  them  explain  it  without  any  hesitation, 
asserting  revelation,  while  others  assuming  the  same 
high  authority  would  give  a  different  meaning  to  it, 
each  declaring  that  he  was  right!  It  is  altogether 
probable  that  Isaac  Brown  knew  as  much  about  the 
meaning  of  the  Spirit  as  any  of  them.  My  observa- 
tion is  that  it  is  not  very  safe  to  follow  those  who 
can  explain  everything  and  tell  you  just  what  you 


2  70   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

must  believe  and  what  you  must  not  believe.  It 
may  be  safer  sometimes  to  listen  to  the  man  who  is 
able  to  say :  "  I  do  not  know. " 

While  with  Isaac  Brown,  I  spent  a  day  in  visiting 
one  of  the  lakes  in  the  Cumberland  region,  about  ten 
miles  away,  and  some  of  the  old  abbeys,  attended 
their  meeting  of  ministry  and  oversight  and  their 
monthly  meeting.  On  Sixth-day  I  went  to  Swarth- 
more  Hall  and  visited  the  meeting  and  the  hall  where 
George  Fox  lived  after  he  married  Judge  Fell's 
widow,  and  spent  First-day  at  Kendal,  attending 
their  morning  and  evening  meetings. 

Others  who  were  very  kind  to  me  were  Isaac 
Sharp,  the  great  missionary  traveler,  and  Isaac 
Robinson,  who  had  been  in  our  home  in  North  Caro- 
lina, both  of  whom  did  all  they  could  to  make  my 
visit  to  London  Yearly  Meeting  a  time  of  blessing.  I 
shall  ever  look  back  with  great  satisfaction  upon  the 
days  that  I  spent  at  London  Yearly  Meeting  in  1875. 
It  was  a  "school  of  the  prophets"  to  me,  and  while 
there  were  many  things  new  and -different  to  what 
we  have  in  our  country,  yet  I  feel  that  in  many 
respects  we  might  learn  useful  lessons  from  them. 
Being  the  only  man  minister  present  with  a  minute 
outside  of  their  yearly  meeting,  I  found  ample  time 
for  all  the  service  I  felt  called  upon  to  perform.  I 
became  especially  interested  in  the  young  people  of 
that  yearly  meeting,  and  felt  that  there  was  an 
awakening  among  them  which  would  result  in  their 
taking  greater  interest  in  the  Church.  Especially 
was  this  being  shown  in  the  adult  school  work,  mis- 
sion work,  and  the  First-day  school  work,  so  that  I 
left  that  yearly  meeting  with  a  feeling  of  encourage- 
ment in  regard  to  the  future.     English  Friends  give 


ENGLISH  FRIENDS  271 

closer  attention  to  the  great  moral  questions  con- 
nected with  their  government  than  we  do,  such  as 
the  temperance  question,  the  educational  question, 
looking  after  the  poor  and  making  the  laws.  It  was 
remarkable  to  me  to  find  so  many  members  of  the 
Society  of  Friends  in  Parliament.  While  their 
numbers  would  not  have  entitled  them  to  more  than 
two  or  three,  they  had  at  that  time  eighteen  mem- 
bers of  Parliament,  several  of  them  ministers. 

The  yearly  meeting  having  closed,  I  visited  a  few 
meetings  on  my  way  up  to  Hull,  from  which  place 
we  sailed  for  Norway. 


Chapter  XXXI 

WITH  FRIENDS  IN  NORWAY 

After  the  close  of  London  Yearly  Meeting  I 
attended  several  meetings  around  London  on  my  way 
up  to  Hull,  from  which  place  Isaac  Sharp,  Robert 
Doeg  and  I  were  engaged  to  sail  across  to  Stavanger, 
Norway,  on  the  12th  of  Sixth  month,  1875.  Isaac 
Sharp  had  visited  Norway  several  times,  and  Robert 
Doeg,  who  was  to  be  my  interpreter,  had  lived  seven 
years  in  Norway,  and  was  familiar  with  the  language 
and  the  people.  He  himself  was  a  minister  of  the 
Gospel,  so  that  I  regarded  it  as  providential  that  these 
men  had  minutes  for  religious  service  in  that  country. 
We  went  on  board  late  at  night,  and  went  to  bed. 
The  vessel  passed  out  of  the  harbor  about  midnight, 
and  the  next  day  the  weather  was  fine.  In  crossing 
the  North  Sea  it  is  not  imusual  for  passengers  to 
suffer  from  seasickness,  but  I  did  not  find  much 
inconvenience.  The  second  day,  Seventh-day,  the 
14th,  we  reached  Stavanger.  Six  Friends  in  a  little 
boat  came  along  the  ship's  side,  and  as  soon  as  the 
custom  house  officers  were  through  with  our  baggage 
we  were  rowed  ashore.  We  were  met  at  the  wharf 
by  a  large  number  of  Friends,  who  carried  our  bag- 
gage through  the  town  to  the  meeting-house.  This 
was  a  three-story  building,  the  cellar  floor  being  occu- 
pied by  Endre  Dahl  for  a  store-room.  He  was  one 
of  the  leading  men  of  the  place,  had  considerable 
influence  with  the  government  and  helped  Friends 

(272) 


YEARLY  MEETING  HOUSE.   STAVAXGER,   NORWAY. 


GROUP   OF    FRIENDS    AT    STAVANGER,    NORWAY. 


FRIENDS  IN  NORWAY  273 

when  they  were  persecuted  for  their  religious  princi- 
ples. The  second  floor  was  occupied  by  a  family 
who  had  the  care  of  the  house  and  kept  two  spare 
rooms  for  ministers  who  were  traveling.  One  of 
these  fell  to  my  lot,  with  a  narrow  bed,  there  being 
two  beds  in  the  other  room  for  my  friends.  We 
were  soon  called  to  tea,  having  fresh  fish,  crabs,  but- 
ter and  bread — everything  nice  and  clean.  After  tea 
we  walked  up  to  Endre  Dahl's  house  and  aroiuid  his 
grounds  and  gardens ;  they  were  very  nice.  His  wife 
was  very  feeble.  We  remained  until  9.30  o'olock, 
which  was  about  sundown.  This  is  certainly  a  sea- 
girt and  rock-boiuid  town.  It  numbers  about 
17,000.  The  fjords  run  all  around  among  the  hills, 
and  there  are  a  large  number  of  rocky  islands  in 
view.  It  was  beautiful  to  see  the  sim.  go  down  be- 
hind the  moiuitains. 

Sixth  month  1 3  was  First-day,  and  at  about  ten 
o'clock  we  went  upstairs  to  the  meeting-room,  which 
was  on  the  third  floor,  and  found  a  large  room 
crowded  to  overflowing.  We  sat  down  in  silence, 
which  was  soon  broken  by  an  aged  woman,  who 
spoke  in  the  Norse  language,  which  I  did  not  under- 
stand. Many  were  in  tears  when  she  was  through. 
Isaac  Sharp  followed,  and  Endre  Dahl  translated 
for  him.  I  engaged  in  prayer,  and  Robert  Doeg 
translated  for  me.  I  then  spoke  from  the  text, 
"  What  shall  I  do  to  be  saved.?"  Robert  Doeg  fol- 
lowed, speaking  in  Norse.  I  was  so  thankful  that  he 
was  with  me,  for  we  had  been  together  in  England, 
and  I  felt  that  he  was  a  good  man  and  knew  how  to 
help  me.  He  was  a  pleasant  minister,  and  we  be- 
came much  attached  to  each  other.  He  knew  how 
to  enter  into  sympathy  with  my  message,  and  de- 
ls 


2  74   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

livered  it  with  an  unction  that  added  to  its  spiritual 
power  rather  than  detracted  from  it;  for  he  had 
spiritual  discernment.  It  is  a  good  thing  for  the 
interpreter  to  be  a  clean  vessel,  for  he  in  one  sense 
makes  the  message  his  own.  Such  an  interpreter  is 
better  than  one  who  simply  translates  the  message 
from  one  language  and  clothes  it  in  another.  May 
we  who  are  ministers  endeavor  to  be  clothed  with  the 
Spirit  and  with  a  sense  of  the  importance  of  "Be  ye 
clean  that  bear  the  vessel  of  the  Lord.  "  At  the  close 
of  the  meeting  they  gathered  around  us,  and,  with 
tears  running  down  their  faces,  putting  their  arms 
around  our  necks,  manifested  their  joy.  It  was  a 
time  to  be  long  remembered.  There  was  a  meeting 
again  at  4  P.  M.,  and  a  tea-meeting  that  evening  at 
Endre  Dahl's,  both  of  which  I  hope  were  a  time  of 
spiritual  blessing  to  many.  Returning  to  our  rooms 
about  II  o'clock,  with  a  thankful  heart  I  drew  the 
curtains  over  the  window  to  shut  out  the  light,  and 
lay  down  to  rest. 

Next  morning  the  yearly  meeting  proper  began, 
and  after  about  one  and  a  half  hours  of  worship, 
in  which  much  freedom  was  felt  in  preaching,  the 
business  was  begun  by  Endre  Dahl  reading  the  open- 
ing minute.  The  representatives  being  called,  our 
minutes  were  read  and  many  warm  expressions  were 
given  to  welcoming  us  to  their  meetings  and  homes. 
It  was  an  interesting  day.  The  business  sessions 
both  in  the  forenoon  and  afternoon  were  harmonious, 
nearly  all  the  members  taking  part  in  speaking  to 
the  subjects  that  came  before  the  meeting.  I  sat 
beside  Robert  Doeg,  who  kindly  kept  me  informed 
about  the  business  that  was  before  the  meeting. 
Among  other  things,  they  had  under  consideration 


FRIENDS  IN  NORWAY  275 

some  changes  in  their  discipline.  They  discussed 
the  proposed  alterations  with  great  freedom,  and 
arrived  at  conclusions  with  but  little  difficulty.  It 
was  certainly  an  interesting  yeariy  meeting,  one  that 
it  was  a  great  privilege  to  attend.  The  closing  hour 
was  one  of  the  most  solemn  and  impressive  closing 
sessions  that  I  have  ever  sat  in.  We  separated  from 
these  dear  people  in  much  love  and  tenderness  of 
spirit. 

During  my  stay  in  Norway  I  was  much  impressed 
with  their  earnestness  in  their  meetings  for  worship. 
Even  before  a  word  was  spoken  we  could  see  the 
tears  falling  freely  and  dropping  on  the  floor.  Well 
do  I  remember  walking  down  the  aisle  after  meeting, 
and  on  looking  each  way  seeing  the  floor  wet  with 
tears  between  the  seats.  Although  having  read  of 
such  things  when  a  boy,  it  was  hard  to  realize.  Here 
now  my  eyes  saw  it  demonstrated  not  once,  but  sev- 
eral times. 

At  the  close  of  the  yearly  meeting  we  arranged 
to  start  out  to  visit  the  meetings  of  Friends  in  this 
land,  and  many  of  their  families.  Our  traveling 
was  done  on  the  fjords  by  steamers  and  row-boats, 
and  on  land  by  public  conveyances.  These  convey- 
ances sometimes  consisted  of  two-wheeled  carts,  the 
passengers  sitting  in  a  box  on  the  axle,  and  the 
driver  sitting  behind  on  a  seat  nailed  on  the  shafts, 
which  ran  back  beyond  the  axle  far  enough  for  him  to 
sit  there,  his  feet  hanging  down,  holding  the  lines 
with  one  hand  on  each  side  of  the  box.  Sometimes 
each  passenger  had  his  own  conveyance  and  driver. 
In  one  of  these  rides  I  was  taught  a  lesson  about 
traveling  that  I  have  not  forgotten.  There  were  five 
passengers  of  us  one  morning  setting  out  from  our 


276   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

hotel.  Being  pointed  to  my  box,  doubling  up  my 
traveling  rug  I  placed  it  in  the  bottom,  and  with  my 
Irish  ulster  overcoat  on  I  got  in  and  sat  down.  Soon 
the  five  drivers  appeared,  one  of  whom  was  a  young 
woman.  She  was  assigned  to  the  American.  All 
started  in  a  row,  one  behind  another.  It  was  up  hill 
for  two  or  three  miles,  and  we  went  along  engaged 
in  watching  the  scenery,  but  when  we  reached  the 
mountain  top  I  was  suddenly  aroused  from  my 
musing  by  the  driver's  saying  something  and 
dropping  the  lines.  Immediately  the  horse  laid 
back  his  ears  and  started  in  a  run  down  the  moun- 
tain. On  one  side  of  us  the  rocks  towered  still 
higher,  and  on  the  other  a  deep  canyon  lay,  hundreds 
of  feet  below.  My  first  impression  was  that  the  horse 
was  running  away,  and  that  we  would  be  thrown  over 
the  bank  and  dashed  to  pieces  on  the  rocks  far  below. 
Grabbing  the  reins,  I  began  to  pull  and  to  shout 
"whoa."  My  whoa  was  English,  and  it  did  not 
trouble  the  horse;  but  my  pulling  was  Norse,  and 
interfered  with  his  running.  My  driver  caught  me 
by  the  shoulders  and  began  to  shake  me  and  to  talk 
in  an  excited  manner.  Thinking  she  was  frightened 
and  wanted  me  to  exert  myself  more,  I  pulled  harder 
and  called  "  whoa  "  louder.  About  that  time  she  left 
off  shaking  me  and  gave  me  a  slap  on  my  right  ear 
that  was  English.  I  could  understand  that  language. 
There  was  no  mistaking  what  she  meant. 
Letting  go  of  the  reins,  I  took  hold  of  the  sides  of  the 
box  and  stopped  sa)dng  "whoa."  Looking  on 
ahead  and  down  in  the  road  winding  before  us,  I  saw 
all  the  other  horses  running.  So  I  came  to  the  con- 
clusion that  that  must  be  the  orthodox  way  to  go 
down  hill  in  Norway.     While  it  was  an  orthodoxy 


FRIENDS  IN  NORWAY  277 

that  was  hard  for  me  to  accept,  I  made  up  my  mind 
to  do  so,  and  quietly  sat  back  in  my  seat  and  behaved 
myself  the  rest  of  the  way  down  the  mountain ;  but 
I  drew  a  long  breath  of  relief  when  we  reached  the 
valley  below.  As  soon  as  we  started  up  hill  again  the 
driver  got  out  and  walked  along  by  the  side  of  the 
cart,  looking  at  me  with  a  smile  as  much  as  to  say 
that  she  was  in  a  good  htimor.  I  replied  in  the  same 
language  as  best  I  could.  We  understood  each  other. 
But  when  we  came  to  the  station  where  all  stopped 
to  change  horses,  she  went  forward  and  told  my 
interpreter  what  she  had  done,  and  refused  to  go 
any  further  imtil  he  came  and  explained  the  danger 
there  was  in  holding  the  lines  tight  while  the  horse 
was  nmning;  for  they  are  trained  to  run  down  the 
hill  with  a  loose  line.  My  action  was  liable  to  cause 
the  horse  to  fall,  and  the  result  probably  would  have 
been  disastrous  to  us.  We  had  a  great  laugh  over 
it,  and  I  told  him  to  thank  her  for  acting  so  promptly 
and  efficiently. 

While  engaged  in  this  work  in  Norway  I  did  not 
keep  any  diary.  Consequently  what  I  have  written 
has  been  mostly  from  memory  and  from  letters 
written  to  my  dear  wife.  But  our  dear  friend,  Isaac 
Sharp,  who  was  one  of  our  company,  was  pleased  to 
say  something  in  his  diary  about  my  part  of  the  work, 
and  my  dear  friend,  John  F.  Hanson,  in  his  book 
entitled  "Light  and  Shade  from  the  Land  of  the 
Midnight  S\in"  has  inserted  the  following  from  Isaac 
Sharp's  diary,  which  he  introduces  with  these  words: 

"  Allen  Jay,  a  minister  of  Richmond,  Indiana  (who 
at  that  time  resided  in  North  Carolina),  made  a  most 
valuable  visit  to  Norway  in  1875.  His  service  is 
yet  spoken  of  'as  savor  of  life  unto  life  to  many.' 


278   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

We  cull  the  following  account  from  the  notes  of  Isaac 
Sharp,  who  accompanied  him  on  the  visit: 

"On  Third-day,  Sixth  month  15,  1875,  we  left 
Stavanger  by  the  steamer  Haukelid,  and  on  arriv- 
ing at  Sand  about  noon,  a  boat  was  in  waiting  to 
convey  us  to  Sovde,  For  about  two  hoiirs  it  rained 
heavily,  then  cleared  up  and  rained  again.  The 
waterfalls  were  very  beautiful,  and  the  grand  old 
mountains,  wrapped  in  green  and  fringed  at  their 
base  with  ferns  and  flowers,  arrested  the  attention  of 
Allen  Jay,  who  gazed  with  admiration  on  our  sur- 
roundings of  beauty  and  grandeur,  but  wondered 
how  it  was  possible  to  provide  for  the  wants  of  a 
family  from  the  produce  of  the  tiny  farms,  many  of 
which  we  passed  in  the  course  of  the  journey. 

"  In  rather  less  than  four  hours  we  reached  the 
head  of  the  fjord,  and  walked  to  the  meeting-house, 
over  which  were  two  rooms,  each  having  two  beds, 
for  the  accommodation  of  the  traveling  Friends.  A 
storm  arose  with  great  violence  and  the  rain  de- 
scended heavily  as  we  gazed  from  the  window  on  the 
white  wreaths  of  cloudlike  vapor  spread  over  the 
fjord  we  had  so  recently  left.  The  violence  of  this 
thundery  tempest  soon  abated,  and  at  8  o'clock, 
sixty  came  together  from  their  several  homes.  Soren 
Olsen,  from  America,  now  on  a  visit  to  his  native 
land,  was  agreeably  with  us,  and  interpreted  for 
Isaac  Sharp.  All  four  were  heard  in  testimony  and 
prayer.  It  was  a  good  meeting,  and  the  people  were 
in  no  haste  to  leave  at  its  close. 

"Our  young  friend,  Thorstein  Bryne,  from  Sta- 
vanger, also  bears  us  company,  and  proves  a  kind 
and  willing  helper.  In  the  early  part  of  last  year  he 
was  the  companion  of  John  Frederick  Hanson  in  his 


FRIENDS  IN  NORWAY  279 

visit  to  Denmark.  Considerably  after  10  o'clock  it 
was  still  light  enough  for  Robert  Doeg  to  read  a 
portion  of  Scriptiire ;  a  uniting  scene  of  brotherly  love 
was  present  with  us,  as  also  the  directing  and  protect- 
ing care  of  our  Heavenly  Father,  to  which  expression 
was  given  by  Allen  Jay  in  prayer  and  thanksgiving. 

"About  10  o'clock  the  following  morning  we  set 
out  for  a  few  calls  from  house  to  house.  After  our 
first  visit  we  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  that  the 
real  wants  of  man  are  in  small  compass;  the  living 
or  family  room  in  which  we  entered  was  about  four- 
teen feet  square.  In  one  comer  was  a  bed,  on  which 
the  father  of  the  family  was  resting  from  the  fatigue 
of  his  early  morning  toil.  The  mother  and  three  or 
four  healthy-looking  children  were  also  present;  all 
were  dressed  in  very  ample  costume,  each  one  wear- 
ing a  pair  of  light  wooden  shoes.  In  one  comer  was  a 
cooking,  drying  and  warming  stove,  in  another  the 
spinning-wheel,  and  in  the  remaining  comer  a  table, 
on  which  the  sleeves  of  a  garment,  with  knitting 
needles  attached  and  a  ball  of  worsted,  were  lying. 
There  were  also  two  benches,  a  chair  or  two,  and  a 
few  shelves;  sundry  articles  of  domestic  use  were 
hanging  from  the  walls,  the  whole  presenting  a  pic- 
ture of  rigid  simplicity.  They  appeared  thankful 
for  the  visit  and  what  was  communicated  to  them,  as 
well  as  for  the  prayer  offered  up  in  their  behalf. 

"After  two  more  visits,  pelting  rain  came  on;  in 
the  brightness  between  showers  the  rocky  crags  and 
surrounding  mountains  were  very  fine  to  look  upon, 
and  the  snow  still  resting  upon  some  of  their  sum- 
mits bore  evidence  of  their  altitude.  The  isolation 
of  this  place  is  in  part  relieved  by  the  arrival  of  the 
steamer  now  and  then,  thus  affording  facility  at  an 


28o   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

easy  rate  for  proceeding  from  place  to  place,  or  for 
the  transport  of  goods  to  be  sent  away  or  received. 

"  A  second  meeting  was  held  at  Sovde  on  Fourth- 
day  evening  satisfactorily.  On  the  following  morn- 
ing, the  17th,  we  rose  early,  and  after  breakfast 
enjoyed  our  reading.  The  spirit  of  prayer  was 
present,  and  found  vocal  utterance.  With  calm  and 
peaceful  quiet  we  took  leave  of  Sovde  and  its  grand 
surroundings,  which  brought  to  remembrance  the 
passage,  'As  the  mountains  are  round  about  Jeru- 
salem, '  etc.  We  set  off  at  8  o'clock,  and  in  walking 
to  the  boat  Allen  Jay  remarked:  'We  have  had  a 
nice  visit,  a  very  nice  visit;  I  shall  not  soon  forget 
this  place. ' 

"Four  hours  were  occupied  in  rowing  to  Sand, 
whence  we  proceeded  in  the  Skjold,  one  of  the  local 
steamers,  to  Naerstrand.  We  were  kindly  met  on 
the  quay  by  Rier  Oveland,  to  whose  house  we  walked 
in  the  evening  and  had  a  religious  sitting.  The  next 
morning  at  1 1  o'clock  a  meeting  was  held  in  the  house 
of  a  ship  carpenter  who,  though  -not  connected  with 
the  Friends,  kindly  gave  the  use  of  a  good-sized 
room,  which  was  well  filled  with  a  solid  and  attentive 
congregation.  The  same  day,  a  few  miles  distant, 
another  meeting  was  held  at  the  house  of  Cecilia 
Tedneland,  a  well-esteemed  Friend,  a  widow,  who 
evidently  has  a  real  pleasure  in  arranging  for  visits 
such  as  these.  On  Seventh-day,  the  1 9th,  we  set  out 
by  carriole,  and  afterwards  took  a  boat  for  Slogvig, 
where  reside  Anders  and  Berta  Slogvig,  at  whose 
house  we  had  a  family  sitting,  and  were  hospitably 
entertained  by  them. 

"  Anders  Slogvig  is  well  acquainted  with  the  dis- 
trict, and  an  open  air  conference  was  held  with  him. 


STAKLAND    MEETING    HOUSE. 


AMONG  THE  VITEN  ISLANDS. 


FRIENDS  IN  NORWAY  281 

Visitors  and  visited  sat  down  together  on  a  rocky 
ledge,  commanding  a  diversified  view  of  great  beauty. 
Bright-green  glades  in  the  near  surroundings  were  in 
striking  contrast  with  the  rugged  outline  of  the  snow- 
flecked  distant  range.  Just  below  us  the  patches  of 
com  and  potatoes,  with  bright-green  grass  not  yet 
ready  for  cutting — all  smiling  in  the  noon-tide  sun- 
light— were  in  harmony  with  the  thrush-like  song 
borne  upward  from  the  grove  of  birch  and  fir  and 
oak  and  other  native  planted  forests  which  have 
adorned  the  little  domain  of  Slogvig  from  one  gen- 
eration to  another. 

"  We  left  Slogvig  between  3  and  4  in  a  boat,  and 
subsequently  proceeded  by  carrioles,  which  came  for 
us  to  the  water's  edge  and  brought  us  nearly  to 
Stakland,  to  which  place  we  walked,  arriving  there 
after  a  journey  of  altogether  three  hours.  Robert 
Doeg  and  Soren  Olsen  were  kindly  entertained  at 
the  house  of  Erik  Stakland;  Allen  Jay  and  Isaac 
Sharp  lodged  at  Elias  Stakland's,  who  was  five  times 
imprisoned  in  Bergen  castle  for  refusing  military 
service.  The  father  of  these  brothers  was  a  valuable 
Friend,  and  suffered  severely  from  ecclesiastical  dis- 
traint— his  faithfulness  in  this  respect,  it  is  believed, 
was  blessed  both  to  himself  and  family.  Two  meet- 
ings were  held  on  First-day,  the  20th,  at  11  and  4 
o'clock,  in  weather  damp  and  unfavorable.  The 
voices  of  the  four  stranger  Friends  were  heard. 
Allen  Jay  quoted  the  text,  'Choose  ye  this  day 
whom  ye  shall  serve.*  He  appeared  to  be  much 
impressed  with  a  sense  of  the  value  and  responsibility 
of  parental  influence,  and  said  very  feelingly:  'I 
thank  my  God  for  a  mother's  prayer. '  Both  meet- 
ings ended  solidly.     An  evening  sitting  with  the 


282   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

Friends  here,  after  a  social  meal,  peacefully  con- 
cluded our  service  at  this  place. 

"The  next  morning,  Second-day,  the  21st,  we 
proceeded  to  the  seaport  of  Hougesund,  calling  at  the 
house  of  Torbjom  Aareg  on  the  way,  with  whom  and 
his  family  a  religious  sitting  was  held,  which  proved 
a  time  of  refreshment.  About  1 1  in  the  evening  we 
went  on  board  the  Motala;  all  the  berths  were 
taken,  so  we  lay  down  in  the  sofa  seats  without  un- 
dressing. Allen  Jay  was  much  indisposed,  and  had 
severe  pain  in  the  head,  but  greatly  improved  in  a 
few  hours.  Six  or  seven  Friends  were  on  the  quay 
between  11  and  12  at  night  to  take  leave  of  Allen 
Jay.  After  midnight  the  steamer  continued  her 
course,  and  about  9  the  next  morning  we  landed  at 
Flekke  Fjord.  The  weather  was  now  bright  and 
beautiful,  and  soon  after  11  o'clock  we  set  off  on 
our  journey  to  Kinnesdal.  'Wonderful !  wonderful ! ' 
exclaimed  Allen  Jay,  as  we  rode  along  this  valley  of 
diversified  beauty  and  grandeur.  The  graceful  birch 
was  waving  in  the  wind  on  the  racky  banks  of  the 
Kvina,  along  which  we  rode;  from  whence,  ascend- 
ing upward,  an  altitude  of  1 200  feet  was  gained.  The 
air  was  bracing  and  the  views  were  fine. 

"  Our  worthy  friend,  ToUag  Roisland,  met  us  on 
the  way  and  forded  the  river  on  horseback.  He  and 
his  daughter  narrowly  escaped  drowning  some  time 
ago,  owing  to  the  rapidity  of  the  current.  We  went 
over  in  a  flat-bottomed  boat,  and  about  8.30  in  the 
evening  we  reached  our  destination.  In  the  upper 
story  of  the  meeting-house  two  of  our  number  found 
comfortable  accommodation  for  the  night  after  our 
social  evening  reading.  These  seasons  have  proved 
especially  refreshing  and  comforting  to  us,  as,  sensi- 


FRIENDS  IN  NORWAY  283 

ble  to  severance  from  home  and  home  ties,  our  loved 
ones  have  been  commended,  with  our  own  soiils,  to 
the  protecting  care  and  guidance  of  the  Lord,  Punc- 
tually at  10  o'clock  on  Fourth-day,  the  23d,  about 
forty  assembled,  including  fifteen  who  are  in  member- 
ship. On  First-day  from  twenty  to  thirty  usually 
sit  down  together.  Tollag  Roisland  is  not  the  only 
Friend  whose  voice  is  heard  acceptably  among 
them.  We  met  again  at  4  o'clock,  and  both  these 
meetings  were,  we  believe,  owned  and  blessed  of  the 
Lord. 

"On  Fifth-day,  the  24th,  we  set  out  before  8. 
The  weather  continued  bright  and  beautiful.  Some 
of  the  mountain  ranges  are  from  1,500  to  2,000  feet 
high.  At  Rafos  the  River  Quina,  alluded  to  above, 
rushes  through  a  narrow  chasm  of  rock,  over  which  it 
tumbles  in  broken  water  and  spray,  producing  a  fine 
effect.  We  reached  Aamot  about  noon  for  a  meeting 
there.  About  fifty  assembled  in  the  room  wherein 
we  met,  which,  added  to  those  in  the  adjoining  rooms 
and  outside  the  house,  made  altogether  a  consider- 
able company.  Allen  Jay  had  good  ser\dce  here, 
earnestly  pressing  upon  the  people  that  'now  is  the 
accepted  time,  now  is  the  day  of  salvation.'  The 
voices  of  the  other  Friends  were  also  heard.  From 
this  place  we  passed  on  to  Flekke  Fjord  to  lodge,  and 
the  following  morning  about  9  we  went  on  board 
the  steamer,  and,  passing  the  well-known  Lindesnaes 
of  Norway  about  2  o'clock,  we  landed  at  Christian- 
sand  in  the  evening,  and  found  comfortable  quarters 
at  the  Britannia  Hotel. 

"  After  having  labored  together  in  great  harmony 
and  brotherly  love,  we  took  leave  of  our  dear  friend, 
Allen  Jay,  on    board   the  Hero,  which  vessel   left 


2  84   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

her  moorings  about  i  o'clock  on  the  26th  of  Seventh 
month." 

In  parting  with  my  dear  friends,  Isaac  Sharp  and 
Robert  Doeg,  at  Christiansand,  I  was  made  to  feel 
how  closely  we  had  been  united  in  this  work  in  Nor- 
way. They  were  going  to  Denmark,  and  I  was 
returning  to  resume  my  labors  in  England.  I  have 
always  felt  that  English  Friends  were  very  kind  in 
arranging  for  us  to  travel  together.  Since  that  day 
I  have  often  met  Isaac  Sharp  in  his  own  land  and  in 
ours.  He  has  been  in  our  home,  and  we  have  talked 
over  those  days  of  traveling  together.  Dear  Robert 
Doeg  I  never  saw  again,  except  when  I  was  in  Eng- 
land in  1885,  when  he  was  on  his  bed  in  his  last 
long  illness.  His  wife  said  he  had  so  often  spoken 
about  me  that  she  would  like  me  to  have  the  privilege 
of  seeing  his  face.  He  was  too  feeble  to  see  me, 
but  while  he  was  asleep  she  took  me  to  his  bedroom 
door,  and  I  was  permitted  to  look  upon  his  face  for 
the  last  time.  He  died  the  following  year  at  Scotby, 
at  the  age  of  seventy-eight  years. 


Chapter  XXXII 

RELIGIOUS  SERVICE  IN  ENGLAND  AND 
SCOTLAND 

Having  returned  from  Norway  to  England,  I  had 
a  little  over  three  months  to  devote  to  work  in  Eng- 
land and  Scotland  before  sailing  for  home  on  the  2 2d 
of  Ninth  month.  Immediately  after  the  close  of  the 
yearly  meeting,  in  company  with  a  number  of  other 
Friends,  we  spent  a  day  of  blessing  and  enjoyment 
going  out  to  visit  Jordans  and  holding  meetings 
morning  and  afternoon  in  the  old  meeting-house 
where  William  Penn,  Isaac  Penington  and  Thomas 
El  wood  used  to  meet  to  worship.  We  had  a  picnic 
in  the  grove  between  the  meetings,  which  we  enjoyed 
very  much.  The  graves  of  William  Penn  and  his 
wife  Gulielma  and  of  other  noted  Friends  were 
interesting  places  to  visit,  not  only  for  Friends,  but 
for  other  American  tourists.  We  saw  the  homes  of 
Isaac  Penington,  Thomas  Elwood,  and  the  house 
where  John  Milton  wrote  "Paradise  Regained."  I 
sat  down  in  the  chair  that  he  was  supposed  to  have 
sat  in  as  he  dictated  this  wonderful  poem. 

I  had  been  among  meetings  in  the  south  of 
England  before  going  to  Norway.  Now,  it  was  my 
desire  to  spend  my  time  visiting  the  middle  and 
northern  portions  of  England  and  the  meetings  in 
Scotland.  Several  letters  came  from  Ireland  invit- 
ing me  to  come  back  there  and  attend  some  series 
of  meetings,  and  there  were  also  calls  to  return  to 

(285) 


286   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

the  south  of  England,  but  my  feelings  were  to  attend 
as  many  of  the  other  meetings  as  I  could  during 
the  remaining  time.  Consulting  with  some  of  my 
friends,  a  program  was  made  out  for  me,  which 
closed  at  Liverpool  with  the  quarterly  meeting  which 
was  to  be  held  there  the  day  before  my  vessel  sailed 
for  Philadelphia.  Much  might  be  said  of  my  visits 
to  many  of  the  interesting  meetings  and  the  dear 
Friends  I  met  with,  but  others  have  written  and 
spoken  so  much  of  our  English  Friends  that  they 
are  becoming  more  or  less  familiar  to  us.  It  is  a 
cause  for  thankfulness  that  we  are  coming  more  and 
more  to  know  each  other,  and  as  this  progresses  there 
has  also  grown  up  a  stronger  bond  of  Christian  fel- 
lowship with  each  other  and  the  work  we  are  all 
engaged  in.  I  trust  that  this  feeling  may  continue 
to  grow  as  years  go  on.  I  wish  only  to  add  that 
while  some  have  said  that  the  English  Friends  are  a 
little- more  reserved  and  harder  to  get  acquainted 
with  than  some  others,  I  was  welcomed  into  as  many 
homes  and  received  with  as  warm  Christian  greetings 
as  in  any  place  where  I  have  ever  labored ;  and  now, 
after  thirty-four  years,  those  days  of  service  are  bright 
and  pleasant  to  live  over  in  memory.  Many  of  the 
older  ones  have  passed  beyond,  but  the  precious 
young  people  of  that  day  are  joyfully  taking  their 
places  and  carrying  forward  the  work. 

During  those  months  there  were  some  experiences 
that  I  wish  to  dwell  upon  as  I  pass.  Prominent 
among  these  was  the  general  meeting  at  Ackworth 
Boarding-school.  The  three  days  spent  there  with 
the  young  people  were  days  of  blessing.  A  large 
number  of  them  were  open  to  hear  the  Gospel,  and 
several  expressed  a  desire  to  lead  Christian  lives. 


ENGLAND  AND  SCOTLAND         287 

Frederick  Andrews  and  wife  were  the  right  persons 
to  fxll  the  places  they  held  as  heads  of  the  institution. 
Much  might  be  said  of  the  workings  of  the  school 
and  the  good  that  it  has  done,  but  others  have 
written  its  history,  and  all  over  England,  Canada  and 
many  places  in  this  land  are  those  who  remember 
Ackworth  with  pleasure.  It  was  my  purpose  to  visit 
all  the  educational  institutions  under  the  care  of 
Friends.  It  was  a  rare  treat  to  visit  Flounders 
Institute  in  company  with  Isaac  Brown,  who  was  so 
long  at  the  head  of  it.  At  the  time  we  were  there 
William  Scarnell  Lean  was  the  principal.  It  was  also 
a  treat  to  spend  several  days  at  Darlington,  where 
my  home  was  with  Theodore  Fry.  His  wife  was  a 
daughter  of  John  Pease,  who  at  one  time  paid  a 
religious  visit  to  Friends  in  the  United  States.  While 
we  were  there  they  engaged  in  making  preparations 
for  a  celebration,  it  having  been  fifty  years  since 
the  first  railroad  in  the  world  was  completed,  from 
Darlington  to  Stockton,  a  distance  of  twenty  miles. 
It  was  built  and  owned  by  Edward  Pease,  a  minister 
among  Friends.  I  saw  the  first  locomotive  that  was 
made  and  the  shop  where  it  was  built.  Newcastle- 
on-Tyne  was  a  meeting  in  which  I  found  good 
service.  At  that  place  I  visited  the  grave  of  William 
Hunt.  He  was  the  father  of  Nathan  Hunt,  grand- 
father of  Asenath  Clark,  and  great-grandfather  of 
Dr.  Dougan  Clark,  all  of  whom  visited  England  on 
religious  service  as  ministers  afterwards.  I  went 
on  to  North  Shields,  then  to  Scotland,  stopping  in 
Edinburgh  at  the  home  of  William  Miller,  the  father 
of  Ellen  Clare  Miller,  who  traveled  with  Eli  and 
Sybil  Jones  in  the  Holy  Land.  I  visited  the  castle 
of   Edinburgh,    saw   the    Highland   regiment,    and 


288   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

heard  the  far-famed  bagpipes  for  the  first  time. 
Next  in  course  we  went  to  Aberdeen,  passing  by 
Ury,  the  home  of  Robert  Barclay.  We  attended 
the  general  meeting  for  Scotland  in  Aberdeen,  which 
proved  to  be  a  satisfactory  time.  The  city  is  btiilt 
of  granite,  and  it  sometimes  called  the  "Granite 
City."  Next  we  went  to  Dundee,  where  we  had  a 
good  meeting,  and  then  on  to  Carlisle,  and  so  on, 
south,  taking  in  the  principal  meetings  on  the  way. 

On  the  way  up  to  Scotland  I  had  the  pleasure  of 
seeing  Her  Majesty,  Queen  Victoria,  in  the  station 
at  Perth.  She  was  going  to  her  Scotland  home.  Our 
train  stopped  for  a  short  time,  and  as  the  guard 
opened  my  door  he  asked  me  if  I  would  like  to  see 
Her  Majesty.  Of  course  I  answered  "Yes."  He 
said,  "Follow  me,"  which  I  did.  Our  train  was 
standing  on  the  far  side  of  the  station,  and  she  had 
gone  upstairs  on  the  opposite  side  to  take  luncheon. 
Carpet  was  laid  down  across  the  station,  and  a  line 
of  soldiers  stood  on  each  side  from  the  train  to  the 
door  where  she  would  come  down.^  My  guard  took 
me  and  placed  me  between  the  soldier  and  the  wall 
by  the  side  of  the  door.  I  thought  it  was  rather  a 
bold  act,  but  took  the  place.  On  the  opposite  side 
of  the  door  was  the  mayor  of  the  city  in  his  official 
uniform.  We  had  to  wait  only  two  or  three  minutes 
until  John  Brown,  her  noted  servant,  came  down, 
soon  followed  by  Leopold  and  his  physician,  then  by 
several  ladies  in  waiting.  They  were  followed  by 
her  daughter  Beatrice.  When  Her  Majesty  came 
down,  she  stopped  in  the  door  and  reached  out  her 
hand,  when  the  mayor,  bowing  down  on  one  knee, 
took  her  hand  and  kissed  it.  She  then  entered  into 
conversation  with  him  about  some  matters  in  regard 


ENGLAND  AND  SCOTLAND    289 

to  the  welfare  of  the  city.  Standing  so  near  that 
I  could  have  laid  my  hand  on  her  gave  me  a  good 
opportunity  to  see  and  hear.  To  me  she  appeared  to 
be  a  noble  woman  with  a  large,  motherly  heart  and 
while  not  handsome,  yet  pleasing  to  look  upon.  I 
greatly  appreciated  the  opportunity  which  I  thus 
enjoyed,  which,  however,  lasted  only  a  few  minutes, 
until  she  passed  on  to  the  train  and  it  pulled  out  of 
the  station. 

Especially  did  I  enjoy  my  visit  to  York,  attending 
that  meeting  where  so  many  influential  Friends 
lived,  and  also  visiting  the  two  large  schools  there, 
one  for  girls  and  one  for  boys.  They  are  excellent 
institutions,  and  have  been  a  great  blessing  to  the 
Church.  York  is  the  center  of  a  great  Quaker  influ- 
ence. My  home  there  was  with  Henry  and  Maria 
Richardson,  at  "Cherry  Hill"  house,  and  I  also  had  the 
pleasure  of  visiting  in  a  number  of  other  homes.  I 
also  visited  Scarborough,  where  I  made  my  home  with 
Daniel  Pryor  Hack.  Isaac  Brown  went  with  me.  It 
was  at  the  time  when  Robert  Pearsall  and  Hannah 
Whitall  Smith  were  having  a  great  holiness  con- 
ference, held  in  the  Com  Exchange,  which  would 
seat  a  large  number  of  people.  It  was  said 
that  there  were  600  ministers  in  attendance  from 
England,  Ireland  and  the  continent  of  Europe. 
There  was  certainly  a  great  interest  manifested 
among  the  Christians,  and,  being  acquainted  with 
our  dear  friends,  who  were  from  Philadelphia,  they 
arranged  for  me  to  sit  upon  the  platform,  so  that 
I  had  an  opporttmity  to  see  and  hear.  These  meet- 
ings were  greatly  blessed  to  many,  and  our  dear 
friends  were  very  popular. 

I  was  very  much  interested  in  visiting  the  meeting 

19 


2  90   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

and  Friends  at  Bristol.  This  was  one  of  the  places 
where,  in  the  beginning  of  our  society,  when  the 
parents  were  all  in  prison,  the  children  under  fourteen 
years  of  age  met  on  the  ruins  of  the  meeting-house 
that  had  been  pulled  down  by  the  soldiers  and  held 
their  religious  meetings.  Here  was  where  our 
friend,  Joseph  Storrs  Fry,  lived,  who  was  clerk  of 
the  yearly  meeting  at  that  time,  and  who  was  at  the 
head  of  the  firm  of  Frys  who  manufactured  cocoa. 
It  was  instructive  to  go  with  him  to  visit  the  factory. 
It  was  the  custom  at  a  certain  hour  in  the  morning 
for  a  large  bell  to  ring,  then  the  workmen,  2,000 
in  number,  went  directly  to  a  large  room,  and  there 
religious  services  were  conducted  for  about  thirty 
minutes,  consisting  in  singing  hymns,  reading  a 
chapter,  and  prayer.  Then  they  returned  to  their 
work.  These  workmen  were  paid  for  this  half-hour 
as  for  any  other  half-hour  during  the  day.  It  is 
hardly  necessary  to  add  that  in  such  a  manufacturing 
company  they  never  have  any  strikes.  I  am  glad  to 
say  that  the  Cadbury  Cocoa  Company  does  the  same 
thing  now  at  Birmingham,  except  that  they  have 
such  a  large  number  of  workmen  that  only  the 
women  can  go  one  morning  and  the  men  the  next 
morning.  The  same  thing  is  true  of  the  Rowntree 
Company,  York.  In  addition  they  are  interested  in 
the  physical  comfort  and  welfare  of  their  workmen, 
providing  playgrounds,  libraries  and  other  things 
which  add  to  their  physical  and  religious  welfare. 

Thus  I  visited  the  leading  meetings  throughout 
England,  coming  finally  to  Liverpool,  where  I 
attended  the  quarterly  meeting  and  did  some  other 
religious  work  in  and  around  the  city,  closing  up  on 
the  2ist,  the  night  before  I  sailed  for  home. 


ENGLAND  AND  SCOTLAND  291 

Having  thus  hastily  reviewed  my  labors  in  Eng- 
land, Ireland,  Scotland  and  Norway  in  1875,  I  hope 
it  will  not  be  considered  improper  to  close  this 
account  with  the  returning  minute  sent  to  North 
Carolina  Yearly  Meeting  by  the  English  Friends  after 
my  return  home.  They  say:  "  Our  thoughts  have  at 
this  time  turned  toward  our  beloved  friend,  Allen 
Jay,  who  a  year  ago  was  in  attendance  at  our  yearly 
meeting  in  the  prosecution  of  his  religious  engage- 
ments on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  We  desire  to 
convey  to  you  our  warm  appreciation  of  his  accept- 
able services  and  our  thankfulness  to  the  Lord  that 
the  labors  of  His  serv^ant  were  extended  to  this  land. 
Allen  Jay  was  diligently  engaged  in  His  Master's 
work  while  here,  and  also  during  the  two  weeks  in 
which  he  visited  Friends  and  others  in  Norway.  We 
would  make  a  special  allusion  to  the  warm  acceptance 
of  his  ministry  amongst  the  young  people  of  this 
yearly  meeting,  many  of  whom,  as  well  as  other 
older  Friends,  hold  him  in  loving  remembrance. 

"  Signed  on  behalf  and  by  direction  of  the  yearly 
meeting  of  ministers  and  elders  of  London  Yearly 
Meeting,  held  the  3d  of  Sixth  month,  1876.  W.  D. 
Sims,  clerk." 


Chapter  XXXIII 

WITH  STANLEY  PUMPHREY  IN  AMERICA 

It  was  a  bright  day  when  Stanley  Pumphrey  and 
I  went  on  board  the  steamer  Illinois  at  Liverpool, 
bound  for  Philadelphia.  Our  dear  friend,  Stanley 
Piimphrey,  had  been  liberated  by  London  Yearly 
Meeting  to  visit  the  meetings  of  Friends  in  America 
and  he  came  home  with  me  for  the  purpose  of  enter- 
ing upon  this  extensive  work.  He  did  not  know 
what  lay  before  him,  but  expected  it  to  require 
three  or  four  years  to  complete  the  task.  A  number 
of  Friends  came  to  see  us  off.  We  occupied  the  same 
stateroom.  Our  voyage  was  a  rather  pleasant  one, 
but  my  friend  suffered  with  seasickness  diuing  the 
first  half  of  the  voyage,  while  I  enjoyed  freedom 
from  it  and  took  pleasure  in  waiting  on  him  and 
endeavoring  to  make  him  comfortable.  The  first 
thing  he  could  eat  was  a  piece  of  a  good  ripe  Ameri- 
can watermelon.  It  was  a  happy  feeling  that  came 
over  me  as  we  entered  the  mouth  of  the  Delaware 
River  one  beautiful  morning  and  sailed  up  towards 
the  city  of  Philadelphia.  My  dear  friend  Stanley 
Pumphrey  thus  alludes  to  it  in  his  Memoirs:  "  Sail- 
ing up  the  Delaware,  my  dear  brother  Allen  Jay  sat 
by  me  on  the  deck.  We  said  but  little  to  one  an- 
other for  the  hearts  of  both  of  us  were  full.  Allen 
Jay  was  returning  home  from  a  service  in  which  the 
Lord  had  greatly  blessed  him.  I  was  entering  upon 
one  the  responsibility  of  which  I  felt  exceedingly, 

(393) 


WITH  STANLEY  PUMPHREY         293 

but  in  which  I  was  trusting  to  the  help  and  blessing  of 
God.  My  thoughts  went  back  to  other  years  as  I 
pictured  William  Penn  sailing  up  that  same  river 
with  a  band  of  men  and  women  driven  from  their  own 
land  by  persecution,  resolved  to  try  on  this  virgin 
soil  the  'holy  experiment'  of  founding  a  state  the 
comer-stone  of  whose  policy  should  be  liberty  of 
conscience  and  in  which  the  endeavor  should  be  made 
to  carry  out  the  divine  precepts  of  the  Saviour  in  His 
sermon  on  the  mount,  of  peace  and  good- will  towards 
all  men." 

I  had  been  engaged  in  preparing  my  things 
in  readiness  to  go  ashore  immediately  upon  arriv- 
ing at  the  dock  when  suddenly  I  remembered  my 
friend  with  a  feeling  that  I  had  neglected  him,  for 
I  recalled  my  feelings  when  landing  on  the  other 
side  as  a  stranger  several  months  before,  with  a  bur- 
den resting  upon  me  as  I  looked  forward  to  a  sendee 
among  strangers  in  a  strange  land.  Immediately 
going  upon  deck,  I  found  him  sitting  on  the  hindmost 
part  of  the  ship,  hidden  from  view  and  weeping. 
Sitting  down  by  his  side  in  silence  I  hardly  knew 
what  to  say.  Finally  I  ventured  to  say  that  I 
remembered  my  feelings  when  landing  in  Ireland 
and  could  sympathize  with  him,  but  now  I  was  re- 
turning with  the  reward  of  peace  and  with  thank- 
fulness that  the  Lord  had  been  with  me  and  strength- 
ened me  for  the  work,  and  that  I  trusted  in  course 
of  time  he  might  be  permitted  to  do  the  same  when 
his  work  was  done  in  this  land.  Never  shall  I 
forget  his  look  of  sorrow  as  he  turned  to  me  and  said : 
"Allen  Jay,  that  is  not  the  trouble.  I  could  give 
up  home  and  friends  and  joyfully  enter  upon  the 
work  in  this  land,  but  I  am  overwhelmed  with  sorrow 


2  94   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

because  the  Lord  has  given  me  a  message  for  Phila- 
delphia Yearly  Meeting  and  I  have  seen  clearly 
that  many  of  the  Friends  will  not  receive  it.  " 

When  in  coming  months  he  met  with  opposition 
in  various  meetings  in  the  limits  of  the  yearly  meet- 
ing, that  scene  on  the  Illinois  that  beautiful  morning 
would  come  before  me — this  servant  of  God  weeping 
because  they  would  not  receive  the  message  that  God 
sent  him  to  deliver.     I  have  known  most  of  the  lead- 
ing ministers  in  our  Society  during  the  last  fifty 
years.     To  my  mind  few  have   been  his   equal   in 
spiritual  life  and  insight  into  the  deep  things  of  God. 
So  my  heart  was  pained  and  dipped  into  deep  feeling 
of  sympathy  with  him  when  he  was  met  by  Friends 
and  told  that  it  would  not  be  acceptable  for  him  to 
sit  in  the  gallery.     At  another  place  the  first  thing 
that  was  said  to  him  was,  "  Well,  Stanley,  I  am  not 
glad  to  see  thee  making  the  appearance  thou  dost. " 
He  says:  "  I  sat  down  near  the  end  of  the  gallery  and 
as  far  as  human  sympathy  went  I  never  felt  so 
lonely  in  my  life,  but  my  gracious  Master  drew  near 
to  me  and  encompassed  me  with  His  love  and  I 
prayed  out  my  soul  before  Him  with  many  tears. 
After  the  close  of  the  meeting  a  leading  elder  pursued 
me  and  told  me  that  I  ought  not  again  to  sit  in  the 
gallery  and  that  I  was  setting  a  bad  example." 
Similar  propositions  met  him  at  a  number  of  the 
meetings  within  the  yearly  meeting;  but  we  turn 
from  this  to  the  other  side  of  the  picture.     He  tells 
what  great  comfort  he  met  with  in  the  attendance 
of  other  meetings.     At  Twelfth  Street,  Philadelphia, 
Germantown,    Burlington,    Haverford    and    many 
others   they   received   his   message,  and   he   spoke 
especially  of  the  comfort  he  enjoyed  being  in  the 


WITH  STANLEY  PUMPHREY         295 

homes  of  John  B.  Garrett,  Robert  B.  Haines,  Eliza 
P.  Gumey  and  also  many  other  homes  and  meetings. 
He  says:  "I  attended  Twelfth  Street  Meeting  far 
oftener  than  any  other  and  I  always  received  the 
warmest  of  welcomes  there,  and  in  many  other 
places  in  and  around  Philadelphia  the  Friends  were 
generally  willing  to  listen  to  me,  and  I  have  faith 
to  believe  the  seed  was  not  sown  in  vain. "  Those  of 
us  who  have  known  Philadelphia  for  the  last  forty 
years  and  who  have  had  the  privilege  during  the  past 
few  years  of  coming  in  contact  more  or  less  with  the 
earnest  and  faithful  body  of  younger  and  middle-aged 
Friends  as  well  as  some  who  are  older,  and  witnessing 
their  devoted  labors  in  building  up  the  Redeemer's 
Kingdom  in  various  lines  of  Christian  work  are 
forced  to  say  that  that  which  was  sown  in  tears  is 
bringing  forth  abundance  of  fruit  to  the  glory  of  the 
Master  of  the  Vineyard.  Pumphrey  was  a  man  who 
had  understanding  of  the  signs  of  the  times  and  knew 
what  Israel  ought  to  do.  During  the  four  years 
that  he  was  in  this  land  he  labored  to  unite  the 
Society  in  this  country  in  their  work  on  foreign 
missions.  It  became  a  real  concern  and  he  wrote  and 
spoke  on  the  subject  in  nearly  all  our  yearly  meet- 
ings, and  when  he  returned  home  he  was  disap- 
pointed, saying,  "  I  shall  not  see  it,  but  it  will  come 
to  pass  before  many  years. "  We  now  see  it  accom- 
plished in  the  American  Friends  Board  of  Foreign 
Missions,  which  was  adopted  by  the  last  Five  Years 
Meeting. 

Friends  of  America  owe  much  to  the  visits  of 
our  dear  English  Friends,  not  only  those  of  the 
older  class  who  visited  us  years  ago,  such  as  Jona- 
than and  Hannah  Backhouse,  William  and  Josiah 


296   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

Foster,  Joseph  John  Gtimey,  Joseph  Bevan  Braith- 
waite,  Sarah  B.  S.  Clarke  and  a  number  of  others 
who  have  attended  o\ir  conferences  and  Five  Years 
Meetings,  but  among  the  younger  class  such  as  John 
Wilhelm  Rowntree,  Stanley  Pumphrey,  Henry 
Stanley  Newman  and  Harriet  Green.  The  three 
latter  visited  the  Society  more  generally,  went  into 
the  study  of  ovir  needs  and  wants,  entered  many 
homes  not  only  along  the  Atlantic  shore  and  on  the 
prairies  of  the  West,  but  went  down  into  the  South 
also.  They  knew  how  to  sympathize  with  the 
meetings  which  held  their  religious  services  in  sod 
houses ,  and  with  the  homes  where  Friends  lived  in 
log  cabins,  driving  for  miles  over  the  prairies,  through 
snow  and  mud  and  over  the  difficult  roads  of  the  South. 
I  have  spoken  of  my  unity  and  sweet  fellowship 
in  labor  with  Stanley  Pimiphrey.  It  was  equally 
precious  to  sit  by  the  side  of  Henry  Stanley  Newman 
and  hold  up  his  hands  while  he  proclaimed  the  Gos- 
pel. It  was  in  our  own  home  that  I  had  the  privilege 
of  preparing  a  program  for  his  four  years'  labor  in 
America,  and  so  closely  were  we  united  in  labor  in 
some  parts  of  the  work  that  we  received  the  appella- 
tion of  David  and  Jonathan.  It  was  also  our  priv- 
ilege to  have  dear  Harriet  Green  in  our  home  and  to 
follow  her  in  sympathy  and  prayers  in  her  labors  and 
joumeyings  in  our  land,  from  the  Atlantic  to  the 
Pacific  coasts  and  also  down  in  the  South,  and  to  be 
present  when  the  dear  Friends  of  North  Carolina  laid 
her  to  rest  under  the  spreading  oak  in  the  cemetery 
near  Guilford  College  which  she  had  learned  to  love 
so  well.  I  am  glad  that  these  have  lived  and  labored 
among  us  and  rejoice  that  I  have  known  them  all  and 
labored  with  them.     I  am  a  better  man  to-day  and 


WITH  STANLEY  PUMPHREY         297 

have  a  wider  vision  of  God's  love  and  goodness 
because  I  have  known  such  servants  of  His. 

After  reaching  home  our  monthly,  quarterly  and 
yearly  meetings  came  on  in  the  three  following  weeks. 
I  returned  the  minute  granted  me  one  year  before 
with  accounts  of  my  joumeyings  and  labors.  A 
review  of  the  work  brought  a  sweet  and  quiet  rest  to 
my  mind.  The  report  was  received  kindly  by  the 
meeting.  Our  dear  friend,  Stanley  Pumphrey, 
attended  Baltimore  Yearly  Meeting  and  then  came 
on  to  North  Carolina  Yearly  Meeting.  It  was 
pleasant  to  have  him  in  our  home.  He  was  a  wel- 
come member  of  the  household  and  quite  a  favorite 
with  the  children. 

During  the  spring  and  summer  of  1 876  I  was  much 
with  him  in  visiting  the  meetings  of  Friends  in 
North  Carolina  and  Tennessee  and  we  closed  our 
labors  together  at  Hampton,  Va.,  where  we  made 
o\ir  home  with  George  Dixon  and  visited  the  colored 
school  under  the  care  of  General  Armstrong  and 
spoke  to  the  students  several  times.  When  through 
here  we  separated.  Stanley  Pumphrey  says:  "  I  felt 
sad  at  parting  with  dear  Allen  Jay,  to  whom  my 
heart  had  become  closely  bound  in  brotherly  love. 
*We  shall  neither  of  us  ever  forget  these  weeks  of 
associated  service,'  he  said,  and  then  knelt  down  and 
prayed  with  me  once  more.  I  had  a  comfortable 
voyage  up  the  Chesapeake  Bay  back  to  Baltimore. " 

Having  alluded  to  the  interest  taken  by  Stanley 
Pumphrey  and  Henry  Stanley  Newman  in  organiz- 
ing the  American  Friends  Board  of  Foreign  Missions, 
I  propose  to  give  a  brief  statement  of  the  growth  and 
formation  of  this  Foreign  Mission  Board  among 
Friends  in  America. 


Chapter  XXXIV 

THE   AMERICAN   FRIENDS    BOARD  OF 
FOREIGN  MISSIONS 

My  lifetime  has  compassed  the  whole  time  of  the 
work  of  American  Friends  in  foreign  missions,  so  far 
as  organized  work  goes.  We  have  always  been 
known  for  our  active  sympathy  and  Christian  labor 
for  the  Indian  aborigines  of  our  country  and  for 
the  oppressed  negro  race  as  found  amongst  us;  but 
we  were  not  among  the  earliest  of  the  American 
Churches  to  reach  outside  of  our  country  in  efforts 
to  carry  the  Gospel  to  needy  nations  beyond.  The 
earliest,  so  far  as  I  know  or  recollect,  of  missionaries 
going  forth  from  us  to  other  lands  were  Joel  and 
Hannah  E.  Bean,  of  Iowa  (Friends  of  Iowa  being 
then  a  part  of  Indiana  Yearly  Meeting).  In  Tenth 
month,  i860,  information  was  laid  before  the  meet- 
ing for  sufferings  of  Indiana  Yearly  Meeting  that 
Joel  Bean  had  been  liberated  according  to  the  order 
of  Friends  "to  visit  in  the  love  of  the  Gospel  the 
inhabitants  of  the  Sandwich  Islands  and  to  stand 
resigned  to  reside  for  some  time  among  them. "  The 
meeting  for  sufferings  united  with  his  concern  and 
appointed  a  committee  of  leading  Friends  to  render 
him  necessary  assistance,  to  correspond  with  him, 
while  so  engaged,  and  report  to  that  meeting.  '  The 
committee  was  also  authorized  to  draw  upon  the 
treasury  of  the  yearly  meeting  as  they  thought 
necessary.     Later   it   was   decided   that   his   wife, 

(298) 


BOARD  OF  FOREIGN  MISSIONS      299 

Hannah  E.  Bean  and  their  infant  daughter  sho\ild 
go  with  him,  and  her  monthly  meeting,  Red  Cedar, 
Iowa,  gave  her  a  minute  Hberating  her  to  accompany 
him.  Of  this  companionship,  after  experience  in 
the  work  on  these  islands,  Joel  Bean  wrote  to  the 
committee:  "  Nothing  has  appeared  clearer  than  the 
wisdom  of  my  dear  wife's  accompanying  me.  Her 
company  has  all  along  been  one  great  means  of 
opening  my  way,  and  together  we  can  go  and  labor 
where  I  could  not  go  without  her."  Now  that  she 
has  so  recently  passed  from  earth  (January  31,  1909), 
it  is  grateful  to  my  feelings  to  make  record  of  the 
esteem  in  which  she  was  held  on  those  islands  by 
natives  and  missionaries  alike.  But  to  return. 
They  sailed  from  New  York,  Sixth  month  21,  1861, 
and  delaying  a  short  time  in  San  Francisco,  they 
reached  Honolulu  on  the  19th  of  Eighth  month. 
They  spent  a  part  of  their  time  on  each  of  the  three 
largest  islands  of  the  group,  and  remained  until  the 
next  spring,  distributing  Bibles  and  tracts,  preach- 
ing the  Gospel,  visiting  many  in  their  homes,  teach- 
ing in  the  mission  schools,  and  part  of  the  time 
having  evening  schools  of  their  own.  Joel  Bean  in 
one  of  his  letters  said:  "It  has  been  my  privilege 
to  address  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  native  popu- 
lation in  their  religious  meetings."  (The  native 
population  numbered  then  about  71,000.)  They 
were  warmly  invited  by  some  of  the  missionaries  to 
remain  there  and  help  them,  especially  in  the  work 
of  female  education,  but  they  felt  that  the  work  to 
which  they  were  called  was  completed,  and  sailed 
homeward  from  Honolulu  on  the  24th  of  Fifth 
month,  1862.  The  knowledge  of  their  work  was 
but  little  diffused  among  Friends,  being  confined 


300   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

pretty  much  to  the  members  of  the  meeting  for 
sufferings,  antedating  as  that  work  did  the  formation 
of  any  foreign  missionary  board  in  any  yearly  meet- 
ing of  Friends. 

But  the  spirit  of  foreign  missions  was  beginning 
to  start  again  among  Friends.  Three  years  later, 
in  1865,  Friends  in  England  organized  an  associa- 
tion or  board  for  foreign  mission  work.  To  this 
board  Louis  and  Sarah  Street,  then  of  Richmond, 
Indiana,  applied  to  be  sent  as  missionaries  to  Mada- 
gascar. They  were  accepted,  and  went  out  in  1867 
and  labored  there  successfully  for  about  ten  years. 
Two  years  later,  in  1869,  Elkanah  and  Irene  S. 
Beard,  also  of  Indiana  Yearly  Meeting,  went  as 
missionaries  to  India  under  the  care  and  support  of 
English  Friends,  and  between  these  dates,  1867  and 
1869,  Eli  and  Sybil  Jones,  of  New  England  Yearly 
Meeting,  who  had  visited  Liberia  on  a  missionary 
tour  as  early  as  185 1,  made  their  religious  visits  in 
Syria  and  became  in  fact  the  initiators  of  American 
Friends  mission  work  in  Palestine,  though  in  the 
beginning  it  was  connected  with  the  work  of  English 
Friends.  In  1868  some  members  of  Indiana  Yearly 
Meeting  formed  a  foreign  mission  association  with 
the  twofold  object  as  set  forth  in  their  statement 
of  the  subject,  i.  e.,  "First,  to  present  to  those  who 
may  feel  called  upon  to  go  abroad  among  heathen 
nations  in  the  love  of  the  Gospel,  an  organization 
that  can  aid,  counsel,  and  advise.  Second,  to  be  a 
channel  for  the  gifts  of  the  willing  hearted  in  this 
direction  and  thus  provide  means  for  the  necessary 
expenses  of  those  men  and  women  who  shall  enter 
upon  this  service."  They  invited  the  correspond- 
ence of  any  who  might  feel  it  their  duty  to  engage 


BOARD  OF  FOREIGN  MISSIONS     301 

in  this  class  of  Christian  work.  From  the  first  this 
association  was  in  correspondence  with  Louis  and 
Sarah  Street  for  their  help  and  encouragement  in 
their  work  in  Madagascar.  Before  it  Elkanah  and 
Irene  S.  Beard  laid  their  concern  to  go  to  India,  and 
it  recommended  them  to  the  English  board.  To  it 
Samuel  A.  Purdie,  the  veteran  missionary  in  Mexico, 
soon  applied,  and  he  and  his  wife  were  sent  out 
under  its  care  and  support  in  187 1. 

Samuel  A.  Purdie  was  a  native  of  New  York 
State,  but  for  some  time  previous  to  the  above  date 
he  had  been  teaching  in  North  Carolina,  at  the  same 
time  struggling  with  the  sense  of  a  call  to  go  to 
Mexico  as  a  missionary,  and  was  even  then  studying 
the  Spanish  language  in  preparation  for  that  work. 
I  will  say  here  that,  when  the  Baltimore  Association 
called  me  to  take  charge  of  the  work  in  North  Caro- 
lina, I  found  one  of  the  teachers,  Samuel  A.  Purdie,  of 
New  York,  had  caught  the  missionary  spirit  and  was 
feeling  that  Mexico  was  calling  him  to  come  over 
and  help.  He  was  not  enjoying  the  work  he  was 
engaged  in,  for  his  mind  was  in  Mexico.  The 
second  year  I  was  there  this  was  impressed  upon  me 
so  clearly  that  I  never  doubted  it  again.  Driving 
up  to  the  schoolhouse  at  Back  Creek  one  day  at  the 
noon  recess,  I  found  him  out  in  the  woods,  sitting 
on  an  old  log  with  a  big  Spanish  miner  sitting  by 
his  side,  engaged  in  studying  the  Spanish  language. 
When  I  came  up  he  said:  "Excuse  me,  for  I  must 
obtain  a  knowledge  of  Spanish,"  and  in  a  serious 
manner  added,  "Some  day  the  Lord  will  open  the 
way  for  me  to  use  this  knowledge  to  His  glory." 
So  a  few  months  after  this  time,  when  Charles  F. 
Coffin,  of  Richmond,  Indiana,  wrote  for  my  opinion 


302   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

about  Samuel  A.  Purdie's  going  to  Mexico  as  a  mis- 
sionary, I  was  prepared  to  give  my  approval.  There 
was  no  doubt  but  that  he  was  filled  with  the  true 
missionary  spirit.  His  mind  and  heart  were  there, 
and  he  longed  to  be  there  in  body.  It  was  not  home 
to  him  anywhere  else.  He  rejoiced  when  the  time 
came  to  leave  all  and  go,  and  when  he  received  the 
word  that  he  was  accepted  by  the  committee,  it  did 
not  take  him  long  to  be  on  the  way.  He  came  to  our 
house  one  evening  with  his  youthful  wife.  It  was 
a  night  long  to  be  remembered.  We  talked  until  a 
late  hour  of  the  work  ahead  of  them.  Neither  of  us 
knew  much  about  what  foreign  missionary  work 
meant,  but  the  way  looked  bright  before  him.  To 
him  it  was  the  way  of  duty.  His  wife,  who  was 
leaving  all  her  people,  was  nevertheless  cheerful  in 
the  prospect  of  the  work  before  them.  Next  morn- 
ing in  family  worship  we  all  knelt  together  and  com- 
mended each  other  to  Him  who  putteth  forth  His 
own  and  goeth  before  them.  We  loaded  what  few 
goods  they  had  into  the  spring  wagon  and  drove  to 
the  depot  at  High  Point,  where  they  took  the  train. 
As  I  watched  the  train  go  out  of  sight  and  turned 
away  feeling  that  it  was  carrying  a  man  who  was  going 
cheerfully  at  the  call  of  the  Master.  He  believed 
the  Master  had  other  sheep  who  were  not  of  his 
fold,  and  he  was  going  in  the  name  of  the  Shepherd 
to  bring  them  in.  Samuel  A.  Purdie  continued  at 
the  head  of  this  mission  about  twenty-five  years, 
organizing  and  developing  it  successfully  on  three 
main  lines :  Gospel  preaching,  publishing,  and  schools. 
When  he  left  it  he  left  six  native  Friends,  recorded 
ministers,  at  work,  also  many  trained  teachers  and 
other  native  helpers,  and  the  printing  press,  doing  a 


BOARD  OF  FOREIGN  MISSIONS     30^ 

large  business  for  its  small  resources  and  limited 
field,  and  more  than  500  Mexicans  brought  into  the 
Church.  The  time  came  when  he  believed  he  heard 
the  call  to  another  portion  of  the  vineyard.  There 
was  no  hesitation  on  his  part.  He  hastened  on  and 
entered  this  latter  field,  and  when  the  Master  called 
He  found  him  faithful  unto  death.  He  laid  down 
his  life  in  the  field.  Thus  lived  and  died  Samuel  A. 
Purdie.  Others  may  have  been  just  as  devoted,  may 
have  done  a  greater  work,  but  none  have  been  more 
loyal,  none  possessed  a  truer  missionary  spirit. 

This  Indiana  Association  found  its  work  increased 
on  its  hands  beyond  its  ability  to  support,  and  in 
1874  the  yearly  meeting  accepted  and  adopted  as 
her  own  both  the  association  and  its  Mexican  work. 
For  some  years  after  the  opening  of  this  Friends 
mission  in  Mexico,  nearly  all  the  yearly  meetings 
gave  it  more  or  less  encouragement  and  support, 
but  most  of  these,  one  after  another,  chose  each  a 
field,  organized  a  board,  and  started  a  mission  of 
its  own.  Each  of  these  missions  had  a  constituency 
larger  or  smaller  of  attached  and  devoted  supporters, 
and  much  good  work  has  been  done  by  them.  But 
as  for  grasping  the  idea  that  "  the  field  is  the  world, " 
these  yearly  meetings  ran  all  over  the  world  almost 
in  selecting  their  mission  fields,  with  little  reference 
to  the  location  of  one  another.  They  were  generally 
not  even  co-operative,  but  isolated  and  independent. 

In  this  initiative  period  Stanley  Pumphrey,  of 
England,  visited  Friends  in  America,  and  during  the 
four  years  of  his  visit  he  looked  carefully  into  the 
condition  of  foreign  mission  work  in  the  different 
yearly  meetings.  He  saw,  as  he  thought,  that  Ameri- 
can   Friends    would    dissipate    their    strength    by 


304   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

division  into  small  independent  boards  whose  sepa- 
rate missions,  often  meagerly  supported,  must  per- 
force be  weak,  and  to  make  their  work  more  effective 
he  earnestly  advised  the  union  of  all  American 
Friends  in  one  general  mission  board.  His  propo- 
sition met  with  some  favor.  While  he  was  here 
Ohio  Yearly  Meeting  adopted  a  minute  in  accord 
with  his  ideas  and  sent  it  to  the  other  yearly  meet- 
ings, inviting  them  to  join  in  forming  one  general 
board;  but  Friends  did  not  fall  in  with  the  plan. 
Indiana  Yearly  Meeting  appointed  a  committee  on 
the  subject  when  the  Ohio  minute  was  laid  before 
it,  but  released  its  committee  the  next  year.  In 
1885  Iowa  Yearly  Meeting  presented  a  proposition 
to  the  yearly  meetings  (under  the  pressure  brought 
to  bear  by  one  Levi  Johnson,  for  united  work  in 
Africa)  that  American  Friends  form  a  union  foreign 
mission  board.  The  plan  was  favorably  considered 
by  several  yearly  meetings  to  the  extent  of  appoint- 
ing committees  to  join  with  others  in  considering 
the  subject,  but  not  enough  united  in  it  to  accom- 
plish the  purpose.  Indiana  Yearly  Meeting  ap- 
pointed a  large  committee  to  take  the  subject  into 
consideration  and  report  the  next  year.  This 
committee  reported  in  1886  so  far  favorably  as  to 
recommend  the  appointment  of  a  committee  of  five 
to  consult  with  committees  of  other  yearly  meetings, 
and  if  the  way  opened,  for  it  to  enter  into  the  forma- 
tion of  such  a  board.  They  nominated  for  this 
committee  Mahalah  Jay,  Lilburn  White,  Allen  Jay, 
Timothy  Nicholson  and  Ellen  C.  Wright.  Their 
report  was  united  with  and  those  named  appointed. 
This  committee  stood,  doing  what  it  could  for  the 
cause,  until  a  plan  of  imion  was  adopted  by  the 


2 

> 

> 
r 
> 


BOARD  OF  FOREIGN  MISSIONS     305 

General  Conference  of  Friends  in  1892,  and  the 
yearly  meeting  appointed  members  of  the  American 
Friends  board  instead.  In  1888  this  Indiana  com- 
mittee, aided  by  Henry  Stanley  Newman,  of  Eng- 
land, a  brother-in-law  of  Stanley  Pumphrey  and 
sympathizing  fully  with  his  views  of  the  need  of 
united  work  in  the  missions  of  American  Friends, 
being  in  America  and  in  attendance  at  Indiana 
Yearly  Meeting  that  year,  this  committee  with  his 
assistance  (in  reality  Mahalah  Jay,  the  secretary  of 
the  committee,  and  he  did  the  work)  framed  a  plan 
or  constitution  for  a  union  board  of  missions  and 
laid  it  before  Indiana  Yearly  Meeting.  The  yearly 
meeting  approved  it  and  sent  it  forth  to  the  other 
yearly  meetings,  asking  their  concurrence  therein, 
only  to  meet  the  same  fate  as  came  upon  the  pre- 
ceding efforts.  So  much  time  and  effort  did  it  take 
to  educate  our  people  to  the  idea  of  a  union  board, 
and  that  too  although  the  women  of  the  yearly 
meeting  had  united  in  a  foreign  mission  union  for 
work  in  the  home  field  to  promote  foreign  missions, 
and  their  success  had  demonstrated  the  possibility 
and  the  advantage  of  such  a  union. 

At  the  General  Conference  of  Friends  in  Indian- 
apolis, in  1892,  a  member  of  the  above  committee, 
Mahalah  Jay,  urged  the  business  committee  of  the 
conference,  of  which  I  was  chairman,  to  make  way 
for  this  subject  of  a  union  foreign  mission  board  to 
be  brought  before  the  conference  and  discussed  there. 
It  was  done,  and  how  fully  it  was  discussed  may  be 
seen  in  the  stenographic  reports  of  the  conference. 
After  this  discussion,  showing  about  how  far  Friends 
were  prepared  to  go,  the  subject  was  referred  to 
a  committee,  and  a  plan  for  a  imion  board,  drafted 

20 


3o6   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

by  William  P.  Pinkham  and  Mahalah  Jay,  which 
was  equally  a  board  of  reference  and  advice  and  for 
gathering  and  disseminating  missionary  information, 
was  reported  to  the  conference  at  a  later  session  and 
by  it  adopted.  It  was  directed  that  the  plan  be  laid 
before  the  American  yearly  meetings  as  they  came 
in  course.  The  requisite  number  of  yearly  meetings 
united  in  it  and  appointed  their  members  of  such 
a  board.  The  board  was  organized  in  the  summer 
of  1894,  at  Wilmington,  Ohio,  at  the  time  of  Wil- 
mington Yearly  Meeting,  Mahalah  Jay  was  ap- 
pointed secretary  and  Ellen  C.  Wright  treasurer, 
and  the  American  Friends  Board  of  Foreign  Missions 
was  launched. 

The  board  entered  at  once  upon  its  duties, 
opened  correspondence  with  all  the  American  Friends 
foreign  mission  boards  and  collected  and  published 
in  the  following  year  an  eight-page  report,  partly 
historical  and  partly  statistical,  as  complete  as 
could  be  secured,  of  all  the  foreign  mission  work  of 
American  Friends,  and  it  has  continued  to  report 
annually  on  these  subjects  since  then. 

The  uniform  discipline  adopted  in  its  plan  of  a 
general  foreign  mission  board  most  of  the  features 
of  the  plan  on  which  the  American  Friends  board 
was  organized  and  added  the  function  of  authority 
to  engage  in  field  work.  The  American  Friends 
board,  in  its  reorganization  for  the  second  term  of 
five  years,  placed  itself  in  line  with  the  proposed 
plan  of  the  uniform  discipline  and  prepared  to  take 
up  field  work  in  Cuba.  At  the  close  of  the  Spanish 
War  the  pressure  was  great  upon  the  people  of  the. 
United  States  to  carry  the  Gospel  to  the  West  Indies 
and  other  Spanish  islands.    The  American  Friends 


BOARD  OF  FOREIGN  MISSIONS     307 

board,  having  been  applied  to  by  one  or  more  yearly 
meeting  boards  and  by  different  individuals  who 
felt  that  in  some  way  Friends  must  take  part  in  this 
work,  submitted  to  the  yearly  meetings  in  1899  the 
suggestion  of  united  work  in  this  island.  A  number 
of  the  larger  yearly  meetings,  embracing  more  than 
half  of  the  Friends  in  America,  promptly  approved 
the  plan  and  pledged  financial  support.  Others 
joined  in  later.  Early  in  the  next  year  Zenas  L. 
Martin,  of  Iowa,  was  sent  to  Cuba  to  survey  the  field 
and  recommend  a  place  to  begin.  The  north  side 
of  the  province  of  Santiago,  now  Oriente,  was 
selected.  In  the  next  fall,  1900,  four  missionaries 
were  sent  and  the  work  begun,  a  work  on  which  the 
blessing  of  God  has  rested  and  from  which  desired 
results  have  been  rapidly  reaped,  comparatively 
speaking.  Under  the  wise  and  faithful  manage- 
ment of  the  superintendent,  Zenas  L.  Martin,  who 
still  remains  in  the  field,  three  principal  mission 
stations  have  been  opened  and  provided  with  the 
necessary  buildings  for  mission  residences  and  meet- 
ing purposes  as  well  as  schools.  Through  the  dili- 
gent labors  of  godly  missionaries,  a  monthly  meet- 
ing, with  Sunday  school.  Christian  Endeavor  Society 
etc.,  has  been  gathered  from  the  native  population 
at  each  place,  also  a  day  school  at  each  place,  which 
is  partly  self-supporting.  An  out-station  or  village 
work  is  kept  up  at  several  other  places.  Wilmington 
Yearly  Meeting's  work  in  Cuba,  joined  by  organic 
affiliation  with  the  American  Friends  board,  also 
North  Carolina's,  ready  for  the  same  affiliation,  have 
been  prospered  under  the  same  superintendent. 
Thus  all  the  Friends  work  in  Cuba,  employing  some 
ten  or  sixteen  missionaries  working  effectively  and 


3o8   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

harmoniously  under  one  superintendent,  makes  an 
excellent  showing  of  what  may  be  expected  from  a 
judiciously  appointed  union  board. 

When  the  Five  Years  Meeting  was  organized  in 
1902  it  adopted  this  American  Friends  board, 
already  organized  and  incorporated  in  accordance 
with  the  plans  of  the  uniform  discipline,  as  its  board 
of  foreign  missions,  extending  and  defining  more 
particularly  its  scope  and  function.  One  of  these 
specifications  was  that  it  should  be  the  duty  of  this 
board  to  represent  American  Friends  in  matters 
pertaining  to  the  interdenominational  aspects  of 
foreign  mission  work,  thus  settling  by  authority  the 
propriety  of  the  board  acting  in  such  cases,  for 
almost  from  the  first  this  board  has  been  applied  to 
in  such  cases  as  there  was  no  other  general  missionary 
board  among  American  Friends.  It  has  represented 
Friends  in  missionary  publications  and  periodicals 
of  a  general  character,  in  general  missionary  con- 
ventions, conferences  and  boards,  both  national  and 
international,  including  the  student  volunteer  and 
yoimg  people's  missionary  movements,  and  it  has 
usually,  upon  invitation,  appointed  delegates  to 
these  as  they  have  occurred.  Upon  request  Friends 
appointed  two  members  of  the  general  committee 
of  arrangements  for  the  great  ecumenical  conference 
held  in  New  York  City  in  1900,  and  gave  credentials 
to  the  twelve  delegates  to  the  conference  which  were 
allotted  to  American  Friends.  With  much  labor, 
because  the  information  had  not  before  been  col- 
lected and  put  into  shape,  it  furnished  the  promoters 
of  that  conference  the  information  they  requested 
concerning  Friends  and  their  foreign  mission  work, 
for  their  reports  and  general  tables,  and  brought  its 


BOARD  OF  FOREIGN  MISSIONS     309 

own  statistical  reports  into  line  with  the  form  that 
the  conference  adopted  for  the  world  of  missions. 
The  American  Friends  had  then  and  have  had  since 
then  a  recognized  and  creditable  place,  for  the  size  of 
their  denomination,  in  the  great  cotincils  and  other 
general  forces  that  make  for  the  evangelization  of 
the  world. 

Having  attained  a  small  measure  of  union  in 
missionary  work,  there  was  a  widespread  unrest 
among  American  Friends  and  a  desire  that  this 
imion  should  be  more  comprehensive.  The  Ameri- 
can Friends  board  was  applied  to  by  four  yearly 
meeting  boards  and  from  other  sources  to  call  a 
general  conference  of  American  Friends  to  consider 
this  subject.  It  called  the  conference,  notifying  all 
the  foreign  mission  organizations  of  American  Friends 
to  send  delegates  to  it,  which  they  did.  The  con- 
ference met  in  October,  1906,  in  Richmond,  Indiana, 
and  with  unexpected  unanimity  agreed  on  a  basis  of 
union  that  would  in  the  end  make  the  American 
Friends  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  the  sole  agent  of 
the  various  yearly  meetings  for  the  administration 
and  control  of  their  foreign  mission  work.  The 
board  was  reorganized  at  the  Five  Years  Meeting  in 
1907  with  this  end  in  view,  and  appointed  as  gen- 
eral field  secretary  Charles  E.  Tebbetts,  who  is  now 
taking  hold  of  the  work  vigorously,  being  located  at 
Richmond,  Indiana.  He  sailed  on  the  24th  of  Second 
month  on  a  visit  to  Jamaica,  Cuba  and  Mexico,  re- 
turning by  way  of  California,  Oregon  and  other 
Western  yearly  meetings. 

But  all  does  not  depend  on  union.  The  success- 
ful work  of  independent  yearly  meeting  boards  and 
other    foreign    mission    associations    of    American 


3IO  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

Friends  is  matter  for  sympathetic  and  joyful  con- 
gratulation of  the  faithful  workers  in  those  organiza- 
tions. The  aggregate  results  and  their  steady 
growth  may  be  shown  in  a  few  statements.  The  first 
twenty-five  years  were  like  most  years  of  beginnings. 
Since  1895,  when  the  American  Friends  Board  of 
Foreign  Missions  collected  its  first  statistical  report, 
the  annual  home  contributions  of  American  Friends 
for  foreign  missions  has  risen  from  $32,500  to  about 
$78,000;  that  of  the  native  Church  membership, 
gathered  through  the  missions,  from  $793  to  $4,190. 
The  pupils  in  mission  schools  have  increased  from 
728  to  2,736;  the  niunber  of  missionaries  from  43 
to  a  full  100.  Other  comparisons  equally  encourag- 
ing might  be  made.  Our  American  Friends  mis- 
sions, in  ten  different  countries,  seem  to  engirdle  the 
earth.  A  number  of  them  and  their  tried  and 
faithful  missionaries  appeal  strongly  to  me  for 
special  mention  in  this  account,  but  time  and  space 
forbid.  We  really  have  done  commendably  since 
we  began  to  work  at  foreign  missions,  but  we  have 
not  come  up  to  our  ability  in  this  line  of  service 
for  our  Master.  Let  us  be  of  good  cheer,  and  in 
whatever  way  we  find  it  best  for  us  to  work,  let  us 
not  fail  our  Lord,  but  do  our  part  of  the  work  that 
He  intends  for  our  generation. 


Chapter  XXXV 

ALBERT    K.    SMILEY  AND  THE    PROVI- 
DENCE SCHOOL 

In  the  auttimn  of  1876  my  wife  and  I  attended 
the  Centennial  Exposition,  in  Philadelphia,  taking 
our  son  William  with  us,  and  while  there  I  took 
him  to  Providence,  Rhode  Island,  and  entered  him 
as  a  student  in  Friends  Boarding-school,  located  in 
that  city,  now  called  "  Moses  Brown  School. " 

During  the  winter  of  1876-77  I  found  much  to 
claim  my  time  in  finishing  the  work  in  North  Caro- 
lina that  I  felt  it  right  to  do  before  leaving.  In  the 
spring  I  attended  New  York  Yearly  Meeting,  and 
while  there  Albert  K.  Smiley,  principal  of  Friends 
Boarding-school,  Providence,  asked  me  to  take  the 
position  of  treasurer  of  the  school,  and  also  to 
exercise  my  gift  in  the  ministry  in  the  meetings  of 
the  school  and  to  have  general  oversight  of  the 
religious  work  of  the  institution.  This  offer,  after 
some  consideration,  my  wife  and  I  felt  it  right  to 
accept,  believing  that  the  time  had  come  to  leave 
the  yearly  meeting  that  was  dear  to  us,  for  a  fear 
rested  upon  my  mind  that  Friends  paid  too  much 
attention  to  my  judgment.  In  other  words,  I  was 
having  more  influence  in  the  yearly  meeting  than 
was  best  for  any  one  man  to  exercise  for  his  own 
good  or  for  the  good  of  the  Church.  It  leads  the 
Church  to  depend  too  much  on  one  individual  and 
may  result  in  injury  to  the  individual  who  exercises 

(311) 


312   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

such  influence.  The  parting  was  a  day  long  to  be 
remembered  at  old  Springfield  meeting.  We  left 
on  Second-day  morning,  and  on  the  First-day  before 
a  great  concourse  of  people  were  at  the  meeting. 
However,  as  I  have  returned  again  and  again  to 
visit  that  yearly  meeting,  and  have  witnessed  the 
way  that  the  young  men  and  young  women  who 
have  now  grown  up  are  carrying  forward  the  work 
of  the  Church,  I  am  more  and  more  convinced  that 
it  was  the  leading  of  the  Spirit  that  took  us  away  at 
the  time  we  left. 

So,  when  school  opened  at  Providence  that 
autumn,  we  were  comfortably  located  in  the  building 
at  the  school  and  otir  three  children  were  entered  as 
students.  We  had  our  rights  of  membership  trans- 
ferred to  Providence  Monthly  Meeting,  and  became 
members  of  New  England  Yearly  Meeting.  I  settled 
down  to  my  work  in  the  institution,  work  which  I 
greatly  enjoyed,  as  those  four  years  were  years  of 
great  blessing  to  me.  Our  association  with  Albert  K. 
Smiley,  the  principal,  and  his  wife,-  Eliza  P.  Smiley, 
together  with  his  twin  brother,  Alfred  H.  Smiley, 
and  his  wife  and  family,  who  were  generally  there  in 
the  winter  time,  were  such  that  it  always  brings  up 
pleasant  recollections  as  we  look  back  to  those  days. 
It  was  a  pleasure  to  speak  to  the  dear  young  people 
twice  a  week,  to  be  with  them  in  their  First-day 
school  work,  and  to  attend  their  prayer  meetings. 
It  was  a  cause  of  rejoicing  to  see  some  of  them  giving 
themselves  to  the  Lord  and  growing  up  to  become 
useful  members  of  the  Church.  New  England  was 
different  from  North  Carolina,  and  yet  we  found  an 
open  door  there  for  service. 


THE  PROVIDENCE  SCHOOL  313 

The  Origin  of  the  Moses  Brown  School 

It  may  be  well  to  stop  and  give  a  little  sketch  of 
the  school.  I  quote  from  the  catalogue  of  1904: 
"  It  was  foiuided  by  Moses  Brown,  Providence,  who 
was  also  a  foiuider  of  Brown  University  and  the 
first  president  who  suggested  the  removal  of  the 
university  from  Warren  to  Providence.  He  was  one 
of  Rhode  Island's  most  eminent  citizens,  a  founder 
of  literary  and  benevolent  institutions,  as  well  as  of 
great  manufacturing  industries  which  have  been  of 
vast  and  perpetual  benefit  to  the  whole  cotmtry. 
Isaac  Lawton  opened  a  school  at  Portsmouth,  Rhode 
Island,  Eleventh  month  8,  1784.  It  continued  for 
four  years,  and  then  for  want  of  funds  was  discon- 
tinued imtil  1 81 9,  when  it  was  opened  in  Providence, 
and  has  continued  with  slight  interruption  until  the 
present  time. 

The  school  was  in  successful  operation  during 
the  last  seventeen  years  of  the  life  of  Moses 
Brown,  and  claimed  his  constant  watchful  care.  He 
gave  to  it  annually  diuing  this  period  $100,  and  in 
addition  to  many  small  donations  he  gave  another 
lot  of  land  and  $15,000  in  money  ia  his  will.  It  is 
probable  that  his  example  influenced  his  son, 
Obadiah,  who  had  a  great  regard  for  his  father,  to 
give  to  it  the  sum  of  over  $100,000  in  his  will,  which 
the  school  received  in  1822.  John  G.  Whittier 
wrote  of  the  school : 


Not  vainly  the  gift  of  its  founder  has  made, 

Not  prayerless  the  stones  of  its  comer  were  laid ; 

The  blessing  of  Him  Whom  in  secret  they  sought 

Has  owned  the  good  work  which  the  fathers  have  wrought. 


314   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

Albert  K.  Smiley 

My  remarks,  I  feel,  would  be  incomplete  without 
some  allusion  to  the  principal,  Albert  K.  Smiley, 
who  had  been  in  charge  seventeen  years  when  I  went 
there,  and  remained  two  years  longer.  Perhaps  I 
cannot  do  better  than  to  make  a  few  quotations 
from  his  own  remarks  made  at  Lake  Mohonk  on  the 
day  of  his  golden  wedding,  Seventh  month  8,  1907 : 
"  When  my  brother  and  I  were  fourteen  years  old, 
the  principal  of  the  academy  we  were  attending  had 
a  fifteen  minutes'  talk  with  us  and  told  us  that  we 
ought  to  prepare  for  college,  and  advised  us  to  study 
Latin.  This  suggestion  set  us  on  fire,  and  the  next 
day  we  started  Latin.  We  had  to  leave  the  academy 
in  a  week  or  two  to  chop  a  year's  supply  of  wood, 
and  while  chopping  we  went  through  the  declensions 
and  conjugations  and  read  the  Latin  reader  through. 
That  fifteen-minute  talk  took  us  from  the  farm, 
sent  us  through  college,  and  made  me  an  educator 
for  thirty  years — four  years  an  instructor  at  Haver- 
ford  College;  four  years  at  an  English  and  classical 
academy,  which  my  brother  and  I  started  at  Phila- 
delphia to  fit  boys  for  college;  two  years  head  of  a 
large  boarding-school  established  close  to  my  own 
home;  and  nineteen  years  as  principal  and  superin- 
tendent of  a  semicollegiate  school  at  Providence. 
I  will  just  throw  in  here  that  I  am  still  in  the  educa- 
tional field,  and  not  entirely  in  hotel  life.  For  thirty 
years  I  have  been  a  trustee  of  Bryn  Mawr  College, 
and  I  am  a  trustee  of  Brown  University  and  of 
Pomona  College,  California,  and  president  of  the 
board  of  trustees  of  the  State  Normal  School,  New 
Paltz.     So  I  am  not  fully  a  hotelkeeper.     When  my 


THE  PROVIDENCE  SCHOOL         315 

brother  Alfred  and  I  were  bom  we  were  so  much 
alike  that  our  mother  tied  ribbons  on  either  our  arms 
or  legs,  I  don't  remember  which,  to  distinguish  us. 
None  of  our  neighbors  or  teachers  knew  us  apart. 
We  always  worked  together,  walked  together,  slept 
together,  had  measles,  mumps  and  whooping  cough 
together,  never  had  a  single  article  of  clothing, 
money  or  anything  else  separate  for  twenty-seven 
years.  In  the  morning  we  jumped  into  the  first  suit 
of  clothes  that  came  in  our  way,  no  matter  who 
wore  it  the  day  before.  Until  we  were  twenty-seven 
years  old,  when  my  brother  married,  we  never  had 
anything  to  be  called  'mine,'  but  always  'ours.'  " 
In  1856  he  became  acquainted  with  Eliza  P. 
Cornell,  and  they  were  married  Seventh  month 
8,  1857,  in  Twentieth  Street  Meeting-house,  New 
York,  after  the  manner  of  the  Quaker  ceremony. 
His  wife  has  proved  a  great  blessing  and  strength  to 
him  during  the  years  of  his  active  life.  They  had 
one  child,  a  daughter,  who  died  in  early  life.  I  wish 
to  bear  my  testimony  to  Eliza  P.  Smiley's  noble 
Christian  character,  a  life  that  has  been  devoted  to 
the  good  of  others.  Many  a  homesick  boy  and  girl 
at  Providence  can  look  back  and  remember  her 
loving  sympathy  and  Christian  counsel,  and  in  later 
years  strong  men  and  women  who  have  visited  Lake 
Mohonk  have  borne  away  in  loving  remembrance 
her  self-devotion  in  making  their  stay  at  Mohonk  a 
pleasant  one.  To  quote  again  from  Albert  Smiley's 
own  words:  "I  bought  Mohonk  with  the  idea  of 
making  it  a  home,  expecting  the  hotel  to  be  con- 
ducted by  an  agent,  planning  to  live  a  mile  or  more 
from  the  hotel  and  devote  my  time  to  developing 
and  beautifying  the  property.     My  brother  Alfred 


3i6   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

conducted  the  hotel  for  ten  years,  while  I  remained 
in  Providence  to  earn  money  to  pay  off  the  debt 
and  to  enlarge  the  hotel .  When  he  built  Minnewaska 
and  left  Mohonk,  I  resigned  from  Providence  and 
came  here.  I  desired  to  have  some  member  of  my 
own  family  to  assist  me,  and  secured  my  brother 
Daniel  for  the  summer  of  1880.  He  was  at  that 
time  chief  assistant  in  the  Penn  Charter  School, 
Philadelphia.  In  the  winter  of  1881  I  visited  him 
there  and  found  him  about  to  publish  a  Greek  gram- 
mar, and,  furthermore,  about  to  get  married.  I  per- 
suaded him  to  leave  his  literary  career  and  join  me 
in  building  up  Mohonk.  He  and  his  wife  came 
here  in  Jime,  1881,  and  have  been  here  ever  since. 
Mohonk  has  afforded  me  intense  pleasiu'e  in  its  devel- 
opment. I  have  treated  this  property,  the  result  of 
twenty-six  purchases,  as  a  landscape  artist  does  his 
canvas,  only  my  canvas  covers  seven  square  miles. 
I  never  take  a  walk  or  a  drive  over  the  property 
but  I  find  some  ugly  trees  to  be  removed,  a  new 
path  to  be  built,  a  group  of  trees  or  shrubs  to  be  set 
out,  a  vista  to  be  opened,  groups  of  trees  to  be 
planted  to  give  seclusion  to  a  too  open  view,  a 
summer  house  to  be  built,  bright  flowers  to  be  set 
out  or  dead  flowers  to  be  removed.  I  am  confident 
that  the  outdoor  life  at  Mohonk  has  added  years 
to  my  own  and  my  wife's  lives.  More  than  forty 
years  ago  my  wife's  health  broke  down,  largely  in 
consequence  of  the  loss  of  our  child,  and  two  of 
the  best  physicians  in  New  England  declared  she 
could  not  live  three  months.  A  little  later  I  too 
suffered  as  severe  a  case  of  nervous  prostration  as 
I  have  ever  known  as  a  result  of  overwork  in  the 
Providence  school.     We  both  consider  that  Mohonk 


THE  PROVIDENCE  SCHOOL         317 

air  and  outdoor  life  have  brought  us  through 
many  years  in  a  very  fair  degree  of  good  health. 
My  intense  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  Indians 
and  in  international  arbitration,  which  has  resulted 
in  thirty-eight  Mohonk  conferences,  has  afforded  me 
the  greatest  satisfaction.  Would  that  I  might  live 
to  see  the  greater  number  of  international  difficulties 
settled  by  peaceful  arbitration!  Any  suggestion 
about  naming  a  price  for  this  estate  has  met  the 
instant  reply  that  Mohonk  is  not  for  sale,  and  no 
money  can  ever  induce  me  to  part  with  my  home, 
which  I  love  as  fondly  as  a  mother  her  child." 

Associations  and  Reminiscences  of  Providence  and 
New  England 

The  committee  having  charge  of  the  school  was 
composed  of  a  ntmiber  of  leading  Friends  of  New 
England  Yearly  Meeting.  Among  them  were  Tabors , 
Rowlands,  Chases,  Tobeys,  Bufkins  and  other 
family  names  of  New  England.  It  was  a  pleasure 
to  me  to  associate  with  these  noble  men.  That 
yearly  meeting  had  been  held  at  Newport,  Rhode 
Island,  almost  from  its  origin,  but  while  I  was  a 
member  it  was  held  for  the  first  time  at  Portland, 
Maine,  and  as  Friends  had  no  accommodation  there 
sufficient,  they  were  invited  to  hold  it  in  the  City 
Hall.  The  hall  was  pretty  well  filled,  and  I  can  call 
to  mind  some  of  the  leading  men  who  were  present 
at  that  time,  among  them  John  G.  Whittier,  Neal 
Dow,  Eli  Jones  and  others  who  have  done  noble 
work  for  the  cause.  One  day  during  the  yearly 
meeting,  going  down  into  the  basement  I  foimd  the 
officers  of  the  law  engaged  in  pouring  100  barrels  of 
whisky  that  they  had  captured  into  the  mouth  of 


3i8  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

the  sewer  that  ran  out  into  the  bay.  It  had  been 
shipped  into  the  city  under  some  false  name  and 
disguised  in  such  a  way  that  it  was  not  expected  to 
be  detected,  but  the  authorities  were  on  the  watch, 
and  where  there  is  a  disposition  to  do  so  there  is 
generally  a  way  to  find  out  those  who  are  violating 
the  law.  It  is  often  said  that  prohibition  did  not 
prohibit  in  Maine.  I  remember,  on  one  of  my 
excursions  down  into  Maine,  in  two  days'  drive  in 
the  carriage  I  found  three  jails.  One  was  con- 
verted into  a  bam,  another  into  a  cow  stable,  and 
the  third  into  a  hay  bam.  They  said  that  since 
prohibition  had  gone  into  effect  there  were  no  pris- 
oners to  occupy  them. 

After  I  had  been  at  Providence  two  years,  A.  K. 
Smiley  resigned  and  went  to  Lake  Mohonk,  and 
Augustine  Jones,  who  was  a  lawyer  in  Boston  and 
an  active  member  of  New  England  Yearly  Meeting, 
was  selected  to  fill  the  place.  He  was  a  man  of 
literary  taste,  fond  of  study,  and  at  once  took  a  deep 
interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  institution.  My  con- 
nection with  the  institution  under  his  administration 
was  pleasant  and  agreeable.  He  encouraged  me  in 
my  department  of  the  work,  but  soon  after  this  time 
I  began  to  get  letters  from  the  managers  of  Earlham 
College,  Indiana,  making  propositions  to  me  to 
come  to  that  institution  and  take  the  position  of 
superintendent  and  treasurer  of  the  college,  and  my 
wife  to  take  the  place  of  matron.  At  first  it  did  not 
present  itself  as  very  attractive,  for  my  relations  at 
Providence  were  pleasant  and  without  any  very 
great  responsibility  in  regard  to  government  or 
control.  Yet,  after  being  separated  for  more  than 
a  dozen  years  from  all  of  our  relations,  the  proposi- 


THE  PROVIDENCE  SCHOOL       319 

tion  had  something  attractive  in  it,  and  in  view  of 
our  sons'  growing  up,  there  was  an  inclination  to 
return  to  the  West.  So,  after  considerable  corres- 
pondence, I  accepted  the  position  of  superintendent 
and  treasurer  of  that  institution,  but  my  wife,  who 
was  not  very  strong,  preferred  to  be  a  looker-on  for 
one  year  at  least  before  assuming  the  office  of  matron. 
So  I  resigned  my  position  at  Providence,  to  take 
effect  at  the  close  of  the  second  year  of  Augustine 
Jones's  administration  and  the  fourth  year  of  my 
labors  at  Friends  boarding-school.  Again  we  felt 
the  severing  of  the  ties  of  Christian  fellowship  that 
had  grown  up  towards  our  dear  New  England 
friends.  We  had  formed  many  warm  attachments 
and  I  had  found  an  open  door  for  labor  in  the  Gospel 
in  the  limits  of  the  yearly  meeting,  visiting  all  the 
quarterly  meetings,  attending  conferences  of  various 
kinds  connected  with  the  yearly  meeting  work, 
finding  comfortable  homes  to  rest  in  during  the 
summer  vacation  in  Maine,  Lynn,  Nantucket  Island, 
New  Bedford  and  many  other  places.  Especially 
do  I  wish  to  mention  the  home  of  the  Swan  sisters, 
Boston,  where  many  weary  laborers  have  found  a 
resting  place.  I  shall  ever  look  back  with  deep 
interest  on  the  four  years  spent  with  the  Friends  of 
New  England  Yearly  Meeting,  and  I  trust  that  my 
feeble  efforts  have  not  been  in  vain  in  strengthening 
the  work  there. 

Four  years  ago  my  wife  and  I  attended  New 
England  Yearly  Meeting,  held  within  the  walls  of  the 
old  boarding-school.  It  brought  up  many  mem- 
ories of  the  past.  They  gave  us  my  old  room  to 
sleep  in,  the  same  place  in  the  dining  room  at  the 
head  of  the  table,  and  as  I  met  from  day  to  day 


320   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

those  who,  more  than  thirty  years  before,  were  boys 
and  girls  in  the  school,  but  had  now  grown  up  to  be 
fathers  and  mothers,  and  brought  their  children  up 
to  introduce  them,  it  made  me  feel  that  I  was  grow- 
ing old.  But  as  I  saw  these  same  people  taking 
active  part  in  the  yearly  meeting,  and  heard  their 
names  called  on  various  committees,  I  felt  that  the 
dear  old  Friends  boarding-school  had  not  existed  in 
vain  and  that  the  labors  of  other  days  had  not  been 
lost. 


Chapter  XXXVI 

EARLHAM  COLLEGE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

At  the  close  of  the  boarding-school  at  Providence, 
Rhode  Island,  in  the  summer  of  1881,  after  four 
years'  service  in  that  institution,  my  wife  and  I,  with 
our  three  sons,  left  for  Earlham  College.  We  went 
directly  to  my  old  home  at  Marion,  Indiana.  It  was 
pleasant  to  have  our  faces  ttimed  towards  our  friends 
in  Indiana,  whom  we  had  left  more  than  twelve 
years  before  with  the  prospect  of  being  gone  one 
year,  little  realizing  what  lay  before  us.  Our  expe- 
rience had  been  varied,  and  yet  we  could  see  the 
hand  of  the  Lord  in  it  all,  and  now  we  were  returning 
with  our  family  to  Indiana  Yearly  Meeting,  where 
I  had  been  a  member  until  I  was  twenty  years  old. 
After  nine  years'  experience  in  North  Carolina  and 
four  in  New  England  Yearly  Meeting  many  friend- 
ships had  been  formed  and  a  rich  experience  in 
Christian  work  had  been  ours  to  enjoy,  and  we  had 
no  doubt  but  other  doors  would  open  as  we  came 
to  them.  Changes  had  taken  place  in  the  home 
circle.  My  father  had  passed  away  a  few  months 
before,  and  a  brother-in-law  and  sister-in-law  had 
entered  the  Beyond,  besides  many  dear  friends  who 
had  fallen  here  and  there,  leaving  work  for  others 
to  take  up.  It  was  with  a  desire  to  find  our  place 
that  we  came,  not  to  rest,  but  to  enter  the  open  door 
that  presented  itself.  We  found  one,  as  those  who 
are  willing  to  work  in  the  Master's  service  will 

21  (321) 


322  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

always  find.  We  could  exclaim  that  the  hand  of  the 
Lord  had  been  good  upon  us  during  these  years. 

The  next  morning  I  went  to  Richmond  to  attend 
the  commencement  of  Earlham  College  and  to  get 
a  view  of  our  futtire  field  of  labor.  Little  did  I 
realize  what  lay  before  me  in  connection  with  my 
work  in  that  institution.  It  will  soon  be  twenty- 
nine  years  since  I  entered  its  doors  as  superintendent 
and  treasurer,  and  I  have  been  connected  with  it  in 
some  way  all  these  years,  as  superintendent,  treas- 
urer, solicitor,  trustee,  serving  on  the  board  of 
managers  and  on  the  various  committees  connected 
with  its  management.  I  have  spent  months  and 
years  in  visiting  meetings,  homes  and  individuals 
within  the  limits  of  nearly  all  the  yearly  meetings 
in  America,  also  spending  three  months  among  the 
dear  Friends  of  England,  soliciting  funds  for  the 
building  up  of  the  institution  and  increasing  the 
endowment  fund.  Many  and  varied  have  been  my 
experiences  with  meetings  and  individuals,  public 
and  private,  in  this  arduous  labon 

The  day  I  reached  Earlham  is  one  not  to  be 
forgotten.  It  was  a  hot  stmimer  day.  The  com- 
mencement exercises  were  held  out  in  the  grove  be- 
tween Earlham  Hall  and  where  Lindley  Hall  is  now 
located.  I  remember  well  the  sun  shining  through 
the  trees  and  blistering  my  bald  head.  I  had  just 
left  an  institution  where  the  buildings  were  in  good 
repair,  with  plenty  of  room,  and  with  sufficient  funds 
to  run  it  in  a  creditable  manner,  with  its  enrollment 
of  between  two  hundred  and  three  hundred  students. 
Here  was  a  college  with  one  building  for  everything 
— cooking,  living,  sleeping,  eating,  laundry  work, 
study,  recitations,  lectures,  library,  reading  room, 


EARLHAM  COLLEGE  323 

museum,  laboratory,  meeting  room,  society  halls, 
etc.,  etc.  The  treasurer's  office  and  the  president's 
office  were  both  in  the  same  room.  The  treasurer's 
office  was  used  for  selling  books  and  stationery, 
keeping  accounts,  post-office,  and  everything  con- 
nected with  the  superintendent's  office.  The  presi- 
dent, Joseph  Moore,  had  his  office  and  little  desk 
in  one  comer  by  the  old  clock,  and  what  made  it 
still  more  disagreeable,  this  building  was  in  very 
poor  repair.  The  heating  apparatus  had  given  out, 
the  cooking  and  laimdry  department  had  to  be  torn 
down  and  rebuilt,  bams  and  stables  had  to  be 
repaired.  After  dinner  I  walked  around  and  looked 
the  situation  over  and  then  went  out  in  the  boys' 
grove  and  foiuid  an  old  log  back  in  the  far  comer, 
and  sat  down,  and  for  more  than  one  hour,  medi- 
tated. I  have  never  told  anyone  my  feelings,  and 
I  will  not  try  to  do  it  now,  yet  they  are  very  vivid. 
But  I  am  alive,  and  the  scene  has  changed. 

Now,  as  I  sit  at  my  desk,  I  can  look  out  and  see 
six  new  buildings,  which  have  cost,  with  their 
furnishings,  something  over  $200,000.  The  endow- 
ment fund,  which  was  then  a  little  over  $50,000,  is 
now  nearly  $340,000.  The  munber  of  students  in 
all  departments  the  year  before  I  came  was  196,  48 
of  whom  were  college  students  and  148  in  the  pre- 
paratory department.  This  last  year  we  have  had 
525  enrolled  in  all  departments,  including  music, 
and  have  no  preparatory  department  at  all.  But  it 
is  just  to  say  that  the  trustees  had  decided  that 
something  would  have  to  be  done  towards  improve- 
ment in  and  around  the  buildings,  and  they  had 
selected  that  grand  old  man  of  Earlham,  Walter  T. 
Carpenter,  to  assist  me  in  carrying  out  the  plans  and 


324  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

improvements  proposed.  Walter  T.  Carpenter  had 
been  superintendent  at  Earlham  College  some  four- 
teen years  in  all,  having  been  there  at  three  different 
periods.  At  times  when  the  college  was  in  a  close 
place  financially  he  went  in  and  gave  it  a  start  again. 
I  hope  some  pen  better  than  mine  will  say  the  right 
thing  in  his  memory  some  day.  He  still  lives,  in 
his  ninety-ninth  year,  and  is  loyal  to  Earlham. 
Let  others  be  false  who  will,  his  is  always  a  word  of 
cheer  to  those  who  are  bearing  the  burdens  to-day. 
Such  a  man  is  a  tower  of  strength.  We  went  for- 
ward with  the  improvements,  he  taking  the  lead  and 
I  following  with  a  good,  hearty  will.  We  put  in  an 
entirely  new  heating  plant,  building  a  new  cooking 
and  laundry  building  and  boiler  house;  we  divided 
the  large  sleeping  rooms  up  into  rooms  for  two 
students  in  each,  and  arranged  for  the  students  to 
have  their  trunks  upstairs,  rather  than  in  the  base- 
ment, where  they  had  been  in  the  habit  of  going  to 
wash  and  dress.  We  made  changes  all  through  the 
entire  building,  and  made  additions  to  the  bam  and 
stables.  It  was  a  pleasant  autumn,  so  that  we  were 
able  to  complete  the  work  before  cold  weather  set  in. 
This  work  done,  the  trustees  selected  Nathan 
Pickett  to  go  over  the  financial  accounts  with 
us  and  see  where  we  were.  We  sat  down,  and 
one  night  about  midnight,  when  we  had  finished 
our  accounts,  found  that  we  were  $27,000  in  debt 
and  only  had  $1,000  subscribed  to  pay  it  with. 
When  we  had  finished  our  figuring,  dear  Nathan 
Pickett,  who  recently  passed  away  at  the  age  of  91 
years,  said:  "What  shall  we  do?"  After  a  little 
silence  Walter  T.  Carpenter  spoke  in  his  positive 
way  and  said:  "Allen  Jay  must  go  out  and  get  it." 


EARLHAM  COLLEGE  325 

During  the  next  few  months  I  went  among  the 
meetings  and  the  homes  of  Friends  in  Indiana  and 
Western  Yearly  Meetings,  when  I  could  leave  the 
college,  and  before  next  commencement  day  it  was 
all  subscribed  and  nearly  all  paid  in. 

Thus  I  have  given  a  short  synopsis  of  the  condi- 
tions of  Earlham  at  the  time  of  the  college  com- 
mencement in  the  simimer  of  1881.  And  now, 
taking  into  consideration  the  impression  that  Earl- 
ham College  has  made  upon  the  Society,  and  the 
positions  its  students  have  occupied  and  are  occupy- 
ing to-day  in  the  various  yearly  meetings,  and  the 
positions  they  are  taking  in  religious,  moral  and 
educational  spheres,  I  have  felt  it  might  be  the 
proper  thing  to  pause  and  give  a  little  historical 
sketch  of  the  origin  and  growth  of  the  college  up  to 
the  present  time,  as  such  a  history  has  never  been 
prepared. 


Chapter  XXXVII 

THE  FOUNDING  OF  EARLHAM  COLLEGE 

In  1832  Whitewater  Quarterly  Meeting,  in  its 
report  to  Indiana  Yearly  Meeting,  stated  that  it  had 
for  some  time  had  the  subject  of  a  boarding-school  at 
Whitewater  under  its  consideration,  and  had  united 
in  laying  it  before  the  yearly  meeting.  The  matter 
was  referred  to  a  large  committee,  which  reported 
favorably  on  the  subject  and  proposed  that  "  a  com- 
mittee of  men  Friends  be  appointed  to  receive  con- 
tributions from  such  benevolent  individuals  as  may 
be  disposed  to  help  in  the  concern  by  donations  or 
legacies,  and  with  a  view  to  keep  alive  and  increase 
the  interest  therein,  and  that  any  contribution 
which  may  be  made  by  them  be  so  managed  as  to 
continue  to  accumulate,  and  while  we  desire  not  to 
press  forward  more  speedily  than  our  resources  will 
admit,  we  think  the  mind  of  Friends  will  become 
more  and  more  prepared  for  it  as  our  information 
advances  and  means  increase,  so  that  in  the  course  of 
a  very  few  years  an  institution  so  desirable  may  be 
brought  into  operation;  and  in  order  to  extend  the 
concern  as  much  as  practicable,  we  propose  that  the 
yearly  meeting  recommend  the  subject  to  the 
attention  of  the  subordinate  meetings  to  endeavor 
to  promote  within  their  respective  limits  a  lively 
interest  in  the  concern  and  contributions  of  funds 
to  carry  it  into  operation."  This  report  was  delib- 
erately read  and  considered,  was  united  with  by  the 

(326) 


FOUNDING  OF  EARLHAM  327 

meeting,  and  the  subject  was  directed  to  the  subordi- 
nate meetings  as  proposed.  A  committee  was 
appointed  to  receive  contributions  for  the  boarding- 
school,  and  the  incorporation  of  such  an  institution 
was  referred  to  the  meeting  for  sufferings. 

The  above  is  the  first  record  made  on  the 
subject.  It  was  the  beginning  of  what  is  now 
Earlham  College,  In  1833  this  committee  reported 
that  they  had  received  $137.  In  1834  they 
reported  $11.50  received;  in  1835  they  reported 
nothing  received;  in  1836  they  reported  $7.00 
received.  Some  additions  were  made  to  the 
committee  this  year,  and  the  quarterly  meetings 
were  recommended  to  open  free  subscriptions  for 
the  promotion  of  the  concern.  Another  committee 
was  also  appointed  to  propose  to  the  next  yearly 
meeting  a  plan  and  regulations  for  the  contemplated 
boarding-school.  In  1837  the  committee  on  plans 
and  regulations  reported:  "We  are  united  in  senti- 
ment that  the  location  of  the  school  proposed  within 
our  limits  shall  be  on  the  farm  belonging  to  the 
yearly  meeting.  In  reference  to  the  building,  it  is 
the  opinion  of  the  committee  that  males  and  females 
may  both  be  instructed  in  the  same  building,  as  at 
Providence,  Westtown,  and  New  Garden;  that  a 
house  and  the  requisite  buildings  suitable  for  the 
accommodation  of  300  scholars  shotild  be  erected, 
the  cost  of  which  may  be  about  $16,000.  It  is  pro- 
posed that  the  length  of  the  house  be  150  feet  and 
the  width  50  feet. "  The  minute  made  on  the  occa- 
sion says:  "The  report,  being  read,  was  united  with 
and  adopted  by  this  meeting,  and  the  subordinate 
meetings  are  affectionately  encouraged  to  raise  the 
amoimt    proposed    in    the    report    by    volimtary 


328  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

subscription,  and  report  to  the  next  yearly 
meeting." 

In  1838  the  quarterly  meeting  reported  that 
$5,640.65  had  been  subscribed.  The  committee 
reported  that  they  had  713,000  bricks,  burned  at  a 
cost  of  $2,189,  ^^^  "they  are  considered  of  a  good 
quality. "  They  had  also  contracted  for  a  sufficient 
amount  of  lumber,  but  the  contract  had  not  been 
entirely  fulfilled.  This  year  the  yearly  meeting 
made  a  plea  to  what  it  was  pleased  to  term  "the 
middle  class,  as  respects  their  circumstances  in 
outward  affairs."  "It  is  from  this  class  that  we 
have  oiu*  main  expectation  in  regard  to  the  funds 
for  this  institution.  Leave  out  these  and  we  cannot 
succeed.  But  let  them  contribute  their  $5,  their 
$10  or  their  $20  per  annum  for  three  or  four  years, 
and  our  funds  will  be  abundant.  That  this  class  is 
able,  without  the  least  oppression,  so  to  contribute 
we  have  not  the  least  doubt.  It  would  be  ingrati- 
tude to  undervalue  our  blessings  and  to  permit  a 
sordid,  worldly  spirit  and  the  love  of  gain  to  prevent 
the  exercise  of  that  Christian  liberality  which  should 
distinguish  the  members  of  our  religious  society." 

As  we  continue  to  follow  the  history  of  raising 
money  to  build  and  complete  the  boarding-school 
that  Indiana  Yearly  Meeting  had  now  on  hand, 
we  are  impressed  with  the  long  and  continued  effort 
required  to  succeed,  and  learn  that  it  finally  became 
necessary  to  complete  a  portion  of  it  and  begin  the 
school,  waiting  for  some  time  before  finishing  the 
entire  building.  In  order  to  judge  our  Friends  of 
that  day  correctly,  it  is  but  right  to  take  into  con- 
sideration the  long-depressed  condition  of  money 
affairs  which  followed  the  great  panic  of  1837,  which 


FOUNDING  OF  EARLHAM         329 

became  a  potent  factor  not  only  for  one  year,  but  for 
several  years.     There  was  plenty  of  produce  in  the 
land,  and  the  Friends,  who  were  mostly  an  agricul- 
tural   people,    depending    almost    entirely    on    the 
production  of  their  farms  and  home-made  manu- 
factures, lived  in  a  comfortable  condition,  and  as 
land  had  greatly  advanced  in  value,  might  be  said  to 
be  in  prosperous  circumstances;  but  many  of  them 
had  contracted  debts  in  the  preceding    years    of 
speculation,  and  now  the  small  amount  of  money 
in  circulation,  the  low  price  of  all  farm  produce  and 
the  expense  of  getting  it  to  market  all  combined  to 
make  it  very  difficult  for  them  to  raise  sufficient 
money  to  pay  their  debts,  taxes  and  their  small 
necessary   money   expenses   for  living.     The   pros- 
perous farmer  who  wished  a  better  coat  than  one  of 
home-made  stuff  for  his  son  just  reaching  manhood 
could  not  get  the  material  for  it  for  less  than  100 
bushels  of  oats  or  com,  after  the  expense  of  hauling 
it  to  market.     Pork  that  in  the  fall  of  1836  sold  for 
$7.00  per   100  pounds,  in  the  year  that  followed 
would  bring  but  $2.00  per  100  after  being  made  into 
bacon.     An  illustrative  anecdote  of  these  times  used 
to  be  told  of  a  man  who  was  watching  his  pile  of 
bacon  on  the  wharf  at  New  Orleans,  whither  he  had 
conveyed  it  in  a  flat-bottomed  boat,  when  a  wag 
passing  by  told  him  he  need  not  watch  it  as  there 
was  no  danger  of  its  being  stolen.     "Oh,"  said  the 
man,  "I  am  not  afraid  of  that.     I  am  only  afraid 
some  one  will  put  more  to  it. "     I  remember  hearin-; 
my  grandmother  say  that  in  the  autumn  of  1836, 
when  pork  was  so  high,  a  number  of  Friends  had 
driven  their  hogs  to  market  one  day  and  sold  them 
at  $7.00  per  100.     The  next  day  a  traveling  Friend 


330   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

had  a  meeting  appointed  at  Randolph  Meeting- 
house. After  the  congregation  had  sat  in  silence 
for  some  time,  this  dear  Friend  rose  with  great 
solemnity  and  broke  the  silence  by  saying:  "Pork 
is  worth  $7.00  per  100."  This  he  repeated  three 
times  with  impressiveness,  after  which,  taking  it 
for  a  text,  he  preached  a  long  and  searching  sermon. 

In  1839  the  committee  said  that  they  had  con- 
tracted for  the  digging  and  walling  of  the  cellar, 
and  a  committee  of  49  men  Friends  was  appointed 
to  collect  subscriptions  during  the  year.  They 
reported  next  year  that  $291.75  had  been  secured. 
In  1840  the  building  committee  reported  the  founda- 
tion was  completed,  and  a  committee  was  appointed 
to  consider  the  propriety  of  adopting  a  manual  labor 
system  for  the  government  of  the  school.  In  1841 
the  committee  reported  in  favor  of  adopting  that 
system  for  the  management  of  the  school,  but  the 
meeting  was  not  ready  to  accept  the  proposition, 
but  appointed  a  large  committee  to  take  the  matter 
omder  consideration,  and  if  they  thought  best,  digest 
a  plan  for  carrying  it  on  in  that  way,  and  report 
next  year.  The  boarding-school  committee  this 
year  proposed  that  the  west  wing  be  completed, 
which  would  be  about  two-fifths  of  the  whole,  and 
would  accommodate  from   50  to  70  students. 

As  the  demand  for  such  a  school  was  so 
urgent,  the  meeting  directed  them  to  go  forward 
with  this  portion  of  the  building.  In  1842  the  com- 
mittee on  a  manual  labor  system  reported  that  they 
were  not  prepared  to  propose  any  plan,  but  urged 
the  importance  of  getting  the  school  started  and 
advised  leaving  the  details  to  be  worked  out  as  time 
advanced.     This  appears  to  have  been  the  end  of 


FOUNDING  OF  EARLHAM  331 

the  proposed  manual  labor  system.  There  had  been 
formed  previous  to  this  a  Young  Friends  Associa- 
tion, the  object  of  which  was  to  assist  in  raising  funds 
and  help  in  starting  the  institution.  They  reported 
this  year  $555,  and  they  continued  after  this  to 
help  in  various  ways  to  advance  the  work.  In  1843 
the  building  committee  of  the  boarding-school 
reported  that  no  progress  whatever  had  been  made 
with  the  building  for  the  want  of  funds.  In  1844 
the  report  of  the  building  committee  was  not  encour- 
aging, but  the  matter  was  continued,  and  in  1845  the 
report  showed  that  they  had  received  $1,343.09,  and 
a  subscription  of  $566  was  taken  in  the  meeting. 

The  meeting  was  united  in  directing  the  com- 
mittee to  proceed  with  the  work  and  propose  to 
next  yearly  meeting  a  plan  for  putting  the 
school  into  operation.  In  1846  the  committee 
reported  they  had  contracted  with  John  B.  Posey 
to  finish  the  part  now  up  for  $3,300,  he  to  use 
the  raw  material  on  hand,  and  the  following 
plan  was  proposed  for  the  opening  of  the  school: 
"  The  principal  features  of  the  plan  for  the  boarding- 
school  which  were  submitted  and  agreed  to  were 
to  have  the  school  open  about  the  ist  of  Fourth 
month,  1847;  that  $1,500  be  used  to  provide  the 
school  with  necessary  articles  for  use;  that  the 
yearly  meeting  appoint  a  general  boarding-school 
committee  of  men  and  women  Friends,  some  from 
each  quarterly  meeting,  to  have  general  charge  of 
the  school;  that  the  general  committee  appoint  an 
acting  committee  of  suitable  men  and  women  Friends 
from  their  own  members  to  visit,  to  provide  officers 
for,  and  to  have  at  all  times  charge  and  oversight  of 
the  school;  that  the  acting  committee  report  to  the 


332   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

general  committee,  and  the  general  committee  to  the 
yearly  meeting  each  year."  Both  sexes  were  to  be 
admitted.  The  teachers  and  scholars  were  to  be 
members  of  our  religious  Society  and  to  conform  to 
plainness  of  dress  and  language,  and  meetings  for 
worship  to  be  held  on  First  and  Fifth-days  of  each 
week  in  the  school,  under  the  care  of  the  acting 
committee.  A  general  boarding-school  committee 
was  appointed,  consisting  of  62  men  and  47  women, 
their  names  having  been  brought  in  by  a  nominating 
committee.  The  general  boarding-school  com- 
mittee in  1847  reported  that  the  school  was  opened 
early  in  Seventh  month,  under  Cornelius  Douglas 
and  wife  as  superintendents,  and  Lewis  A.  Estes 
and  Huldah  C.  Hoag  as  teachers,  and  continued 
fifteen  weeks  with  an  average  attendance  of  about 
36  scholars.  It  was  proposed  to  divide  the  scholastic 
year  into  two  terms  of  twenty-three  weeks  each,  the 
winter  term  to  begin  just  after  yearly  meeting  and 
close  about  the  middle  of  Third  month,  and  the 
siunmer  term  to  immediately  succeed  it  and  close 
the  latter  part  of  Eighth  month.  The  expense  for 
board  and  tuition  was  to  be  $70  per  year,  or  $35  per 
term.  In  1848  the  general  boarding-school  com- 
mittee reported  to  the  yearly  meeting  that  they  had 
received  an  additional  donation  from  Friends  in 
England  of  $491.1 1 ;  from  women  Friends  of  Indiana 
Yearly  Meeting,  $5.57;  and  from  the  quarterly 
meeting,  $542.08,  which  with  the  balance  from  the 
previous  year,  made  $1,301.08. 

During  1848  the  school  made  satisfactory  pro- 
gress under  Barnabas  C.  Hobbs  and  wife  as  superin- 
tendents, and  Lewis  A.  and  Huldah  C.  Estes  as 
teachers,  and  averaged  about  75   scholars.    They 


FOUNDING  OF  EARLHAM  33s 

also  proposed  that  the  midweek  meeting  at  the 
school  be  omitted  the  week  of  preparative  meeting 
and  of  monthly  meeting.  The  committee  was 
enlarged  by  the  addition  of  five  men  and  four  women, 
making  the  whole  number  118.  In  185 1  a  proposi- 
tion was  made  to  build  a  house  for  a  teacher,  which 
was  united  with,  the  house  not  to  cost  over  $600. 
In  1852  the  proposition  was  made  to  appoint  a 
special  boarding-school  committee,  which  would  have 
the  special  care  and  oversight  of  the  institution, 
consisting  of  1 2  men  and  1 2  women,  and  the  proposi- 
tion was  made  to  try  to  raise  $16,000  to  finish  the 
main  building.  In  1854  the  building  committee 
reported  it  had  entered  into  contract  with  John  B. 
Posey  for  the  putting  up  and  finishing  of  all  the 
unfinished  portions  of  the  building  for  the  sum  of 
$19,445.  In  1855  the  proposition  was  made  to  sell 
off  some  lots  of  the  meeting-house  ground  and  also 
to  sell  and  appropriate  to  it  that  part  of  the  school 
farm  lying  north  of  the  tvimpike  road,  together 
with  such  other  portions  of  the  land  as  could  be 
spared,  and  pay  off  all  the  indebtedness  of  the  insti- 
tution, finish  the  building  and  furnish  it  as  above 
estimated.  This  report  was  very  fully  united  with 
by  the  meeting,  and  the  trustees  of  the  boarding- 
school  farm  and  land  were  authorized  to  make  the 
sale  and  apply  the  proceeds  as  recommended. 

Without  going  into  further  detail,  it  may  be 
sufficient  to  say  that  from  year  to  year  the  building 
committee  and  the  boarding-school  committee  con- 
tinued to  report  progress,  and  the  subordinate 
meetings  were  encouraged  to  raise  money  to  carry 
on  the  work.  In  1857  the  yearly  meeting  directed 
the  trustees  to  sell  the  land  on  the  north  side  of  the 


334  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

turnpike  road  and  apply  the  proceeds  to  paying  the 
debt.  We  find  the  whole  amount  of  money  ex- 
pended while  it  was  a  boarding-school  and  before  it 
became  a  college  was  $73,639.04,  as  nearly  as  can 
be  obtained  from  the  minutes  of  the  yearly  meeting. 
The  entire  building  was  completed  in  1855. 

The  following  proposition  was  received  from  the 
committee  at  the  yearly  meeting  in  1859 :  "In  order 
to  enable  the  institution  to  meet  more  fully  the 
wants  of  many  students,  both  young  men  and  young 
women,  who  are  looking  to  it  for  a  complete  educa- 
tion and  desire  to  obtain  college  advantages  without 
going  to  institutions  outside  our  Society,  the  com- 
mittee have,  after  much  consideration,  adopted 
regulations  establishing  a  faculty  and  authorizing, 
with  the  approbation  of  the  yearly  meeting,  the 
granting  of  regular  college  degrees  (excepting  all 
unnecessary  forms  and  ceremony  which  we  do  not 
approve)  to  such  students  as  go  through  either  the 
college  or  scientific  course,  and  the  issue  of  diplomas 
properly  executed.  We  propose  ^that  the  name  of 
Earlham  College  be  adopted  as  the  future  name  of 
the  school."  The  minute  made  by  the  clerk  of  the 
yearly  meeting  with  reference  to  the  report  of  the 
boarding-school  committee  on  this  occasion  says  it 
"has  been  read  and  is  satisfactory  to  the  meeting 
and  the  new  regulations  proposed  by  the  committee 
are  adopted."  So  the  Friends  Boarding-school 
became  Earlham  College  Tenth  month  i,  1859. 

Financial  History  of  Earlham  College 

Having  given  a  hasty  review  of  the  history  and 
struggles  of  the  Friends  Boarding  school  financially 
imtil  it  became  Earlham  College,  I  will  leave  the 


FOUNDING  OF  EARLHAM  335 

financial  growth  and  development  from  that  time  to 
this  for  other  pens  to  write  down,  after  simply- 
adding  that  the  same  struggle  has  been  continued  all 
these  years.  The  first  permanent  endowment  fund 
was  raised  in  1870  and  1871,  our  late  friend,  Charles 
vS.  Hubbard,  giving  much  time  and  effort  in  the 
matter,  and  being  assisted  more  or  less  by  Joseph 
Moore.  In  1872  the  report  to  the  yearly  meeting 
stated  that  the  amount  of  subscriptions  was  $50,000, 
which  added  to  that  previously  raised  made  $53,000, 
and  steps  were  taken  to  collect  the  same  and  have  it 
placed  on  interest.  In  1887,  after  much  labor,  funds 
were  secured  for  erecting  Lindley  Hall  and  Parry- 
Hall,  the  former  as  a  recitation  hall  and  the  latter 
to  accommodate  the  chemical  laboratory.  Several 
years  later  funds  were  solicited  and  the  present 
gymnasium  erected  and  Reid  Field  secured  for 
athletics.  During  the  spring  of  1907  funds  were 
secured  for  erecting  Bundy  Dormitory  Building  for 
boys,  Zenas  Bundy  and  wife  giving  $25,000  on  con- 
dition that  the  college  secure  that  much  more  and 
put  up  a  $50,000  building.  Thirty  thousand  dollars 
was  also  secured  from  Andrew  Carnegie  towards 
putting  up  a  library  building  on  condition  that  the 
college  raise  a  similar  amount,  the  interest  of  which 
was  to  be  used  in  the  upkeep  of  the  library. 
These  buildings  were  completed  ready  to  be  occu- 
pied in  the  autumn  of  1907.  These  additions  to 
the  college  buildings  made  it  necessary  to  ereqt  an 
additional  heating  plant,  which  was  done  in  the 
autumn  of  1907  at  an  initial  cost  of  $20,000.  Dur- 
ing these  years  also  the  endowment  fund  has  been 
increased  to  $340,000  through  the  efforts  of  the 
friends  of  the  college,  and  the  school  has  increased 


336   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

in  numbers  so  rapidly  that  at  the  present  time  all 
available  space  is  occupied. 

Leaving  now  the  financial  side  of  the  college  and 
its  equipment,  I  will  review  the  share  it  has  taken 
in  educational  and  religious  work  and  show  its  in- 
fluence on  the  Church  and  the  world. 


Chapter  XXXVIII 

EDUCATIONAL    AND    RELIGIOUS 
INFLUENCE  OF  EARLHAM 

We  have  seen  that  the  beginning  of  Earlham 
was  a  religious  concern  for  an  institution  where  the 
yotmg  Friends  could  have  a  guarded  and  religious 
education.  This  deep-seated  concern  had  enabled 
them  to  overcome  all  opposition,  and  now  at  the 
opening  it  was  meet  that  they  should  read  a  psalm 
of  rejoicing  in  which  they  gave  God  all  the  praise  for 
what  He  had  wrought.  As  we  look  back  from  our 
present  standpoint  we  are  impressed  with  the 
thought  that  our  fathers  btiilt  better  than  they 
knew.  The  hand  of  their  God  had  been  good  upon 
them,  and  their  labors  had  brought  forth  a  rich 
harvest  of  blessing  to  the  Chiurch  and  to  the 
world. 

He  who  takes  a  list  of  those  who  have  been  at  the 
boarding-school  and  at  Earlham  College  and  traces 
their  lives  and  marks  their  influence  in  the  Church 
must  be  at  once  impressed  with  the  wisdom  of  those 
who  builded  for  the  future  of  the  Church.  Indeed, 
the  student  of  history  must  see  that  no  Church  will 
live  long  or  impress  itself  upon  the  world  that  does 
not  have  its  educational  institutions,  and  in  propor- 
tion as  these  institutions  are  strong  educationally 
and  religiously  will  that  influence  be  felt.  As  I  have 
said  before,  it  is  when  the  head  and  the  heart  are 
trained  together  that  the  greatest  and  truest  results 

22  (337) 


338   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

will  be  seen.  This,  I  believe,  is  what  Earlham  has 
stood  for  in  the  past  and  is  striving  for  at  the  present 
time  even  to  a  greater  degree.  I  trust  that  there  is 
no  disposition  on  the  part  of  those  who  have  the  care 
of  Earlham  to  boast  and,  above  all,  to  compare  her 
with  other  Friends  institutions  or  try  to  build  her 
up  by  pulling  others  down.  If  she  cannot  live  on 
her  own  merits,  she  had  better  die.  In  all  my  pleas 
for  ftmds  or  students  for  Earlham  I  have  never  felt 
at  liberty  to  speak  unkindly  of  other  Friends  col- 
lies. Let  her  records  speak  for  her.  The  church 
or  college  that  boasts  of  its  merit  by  finding  fault 
with  others  and  boasting  of  its  superiority  over 
sister  churches  or  colleges  in  educational  or  religious 
lines  is  on  the  way  to  its  own  downfall.  I  know  all 
the  colleges  among  Friends  in  this  country ;  they 
all  have  their  good  qualities  and  all  have  God-fearing 
men  and  women  in  their  faculties  who  are  doing 
God's  work  in  training  the  young  men  and  women 
for  the  work  that  is  before  them.  So,  while  I  review 
a  little  of  the  influence  that  Earlham  has  had  in  the 
educational  and  religious  world,  it  is  with  no  feeling 
of  boasting,  but  of  thankfulness  for  what  God  has 
helped  her  to  do,  and  with  a  desire  to  encourage  her 
sister  colleges  to  go  forward  with  their  good  work, 
that  they,  together  with  Earlham,  may  labor  and 
make  the  Quaker  Church  what  it  should  be  to  meet 
the  demands  which  will  be  made  upon  it  during  the 
twentieth  century. 

Talking  several  years  ago  with  a  president  of  one 
of  the  denominational  colleges  of  our  State,  he 
remarked  that  the  "teachers  that  come  from  Earl- 
ham graduates  stand  high  among  our  schools.  They 
do  good  work  educationally  and  their  moral  and 


INFLUENCE  OF  EARLHAM  339 

religious  influence  is  good. "  From  the  statistics  it 
appears  that  a  larger  percentage  of  the  graduates 
have  entered  the  profession  of  teaching  in  the  past 
than  of  some  other  institutions,  and  perhaps  as 
larger  percentage  do  so  at  the  present  time.  The 
explanation  of  this  may  lie  in  the  fact  that  they  were 
trained  to  a  religious  feeling  that  it  was  their  duty 
to  do  what  they  could  for  the  good  of  the  Chiu*ch 
and  the  world,  and  that  the  calling  of  a  teacher  was 
the  open  door  to  directly  influencing  the  world  for 
good. 

The  need  of  an  education  for  a  minister, 
missionary  or  any  other  direct  worker  in  the  Chris- 
tian field  was  not  so  apparent  then  as  it  is  to-day: 
Now,  however,  they  are  entering  a  greater  variety 
of  fields  of  usefulness.  It  is  more  and  more  felt 
that  to  fill  any  position  in  the  Church  or  State 
reqtiires  our  best.  To  be  a  farmer,  a  good  business 
man,  or  a  useful  citizen  of  any  kind,  one  needs  a 
well-trained  mind.  Consequently  more  of  our  col- 
lege graduates  are  now  found  in  these  various 
avenues  of  usefulness.  In  a  previous  chapter 
reference  was  made  to  a  religious  awakening  which 
took  place  in  the  summer  of  1865.  One  who  took 
an  active  part  in  this  spiritual  awakening,  and  who 
is  still  living,  has  given  the  following  information: 
"  It  was  so  pronounced  among  the  students  that  a 
concern  originated  among  the  students  themselves 
to  hold  a  prayer  meeting.  It  was  decided  to  lay  the 
matter  before  Walter  T.  Carpenter,  who  at  that  time 
was  superintendent.  He  gave  his  consent,  and 
manifested  his  interest  by  being  present  when  he 
could.  They  had  some  remarkable  meetings.  At 
times  several  would  take  part,  and  much  tenderness 


340   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

was  manifested.  Indeed,  a  revival  spirit  broke 
out  in  the  school,  especially  among  the  young  men. 
These  young  men,  upon  their  returning  to  their 
homes,  carried  the  spirit  of  religious  awakening 
with  them  into  home  meetings,  and  may  have  had 
much  to  do  with  the  revival  that  took  place  about 
that  time  in  various  centers  throughout  the  Society 
here  in  the  West. "  The  prayer  meeting  started  at 
that  time  has  never  been  laid  down.  From  that  day 
to  this  it  has  been  kept  up  through  all  the  years 
when  the  college  was  in  session.  Many  of  the  old 
students  have  come  to  remember  the  "  Earlham 
prayer  meeting"  as  being  the  time  and  place  where 
they  received  a  spiritual  blessing.  The  boys  now 
have  their  meeting  in  Bundy  Hall  on  Fifth-day 
evening,  and  the  girls  have  theirs  in  Earlham  Hall 
at  the  same  time.  On  First-day  evening  they  all 
meet  together  in  the  association  room  in  Earlham 
Hall.  In  addition  to  these,  during  the  series  of 
special  meetings  which  are  held  in  both  halls  during 
the  winter  term  of  each  year,  ^' floor  prayer  meet- 
ings" are  held  for  five  or  ten  minutes  each  day,  each 
of  these  meetings  including  only  the  students  who 
are  grouped  on  one  floor  or  one  hall  of  the  building. 
I  have  never  found  more  satisfactory  prayer  meet- 
ings, among  all  those  I  have  attended,  than  those  at 
Earlham  College  on  First-day  evening,  that  had 
their  origin  in  1865  in  one  of  the  rooms  of  Earlham 
Hall. 

I  wish  to  describe  the  manner  of  conducting 
them.  They  are  under  the  care  of  a  joint  committee 
of  the  Young  Men's  and  Young  Women's  Christian 
Associations,  the  chairman  of  which  is  usually  a 
senior.     This  committee  selects  a  leader  for  each 


INFLUENCE  OF  EARLHAM  341 

evening.  This  leader  takes  his  or  her  position  at 
the  table  in  front  of  the  meeting,  generally  calls  for 
a  hymn,  and  then  reads  a  portion  of  Scripture  bear- 
ing upon  the  subject  that  he  wishes  to  bring  before 
the  meeting.  This  is  usually  followed  by  a  season 
of  prayer  at  the  commencement  in  which  all  drop 
into  silence.  No  one  is  called  upon,  but  each  one  is 
left  to  engage  in  vocal  prayer  as  he  may  feel  led. 
This  generally  lasts  for  several  minutes,  during  which 
very  often  twenty  or  more  are  heard  in  vocal  prayer. 
When  the  season  of  prayer  is  over  the  leader  then 
speaks  on  the  subject  that  impresses  his  mind  for 
about  ten  minutes,  after  which  another  hymn  is 
sung  and  the  meeting  is  again  thrown  open  for  each 
one  to  take  such  part  in  prayer,  testimony  or  song 
as  he  may  feel  called  upon  to  do.  No  one  is  urged 
and  no  one  named,  but  it  is  conducted  as  a  real 
Quaker  meeting.  During  this  time  generally  a 
number  are  heard  from,  and  occasionally  one  comes 
out  who  has  never  spoken  before.  It  is  good  for 
those  of  us  who  are  older  to  go  in  and  sit  among 
these  young  people  and  feel  that  the  Spirit  is  leading 
them  in  their  devotional  exercises  and  that  God  is  in 
their  midst. 

As  a  result  of  this  religious  atmosphere  in  the 
institution  there  are  a  number  of  voltmteer  Bible 
classes,  both  among  the  girls  and  among  the  boys, 
which  are  kept  up  throughout  the  year.  There  is 
also  a  branch  of  the  student  voliinteer  organization 
for  foreign  missionary  work  which  includes  several 
of  the  students,  both  boys  and  girls,  and  there  are 
several  mission  study  classes  along  general  lines  of 
mission  work  which  meet  weekly. 

Some   two   years   ago   Professor   Murray   Ken- 


342   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

worthy,  of  the  Biblical  department  of  Earlham  Col- 
lege, collected  some  facts  relating  to  the  religious  life 
of  the  Church  and  college,  extracts  from  which  were 
printed  in  the  Earlham  College  Bulletin  of  Novem- 
ber, 1907,  and  which  have  been  placed  at  my  disposal 
for  use.  They  are  as  follows:  "It  appears  that 
in  the  twelve  yearly  meetings  of  Friends  in  this 
country  there  is  on  an  average  one  minister  to  every 
69  members,  while  among  the  former  students  of 
Earlham  College  the  proportion  is  one  to  every  40, 
and  among  the  graduates  of  Earlham  there  is  one 
minister  to  every  13  members  of  the  alumni.  From 
1885  to  1895  inclusive  the  total  nimiber  of  students 
enrolled  in  the  Biblical  department  was  123.  Dur- 
ing the  years  from  1896  to  1906  inclusive  the  total 
number  was  479.  During  the  last  year,  1906-07, 
there  were  34  ministers,  prospective  ministers  and 
missionaries  enrolled  as  students  of  the  college.  The 
following  Earlham  missionaries  are  and  have  been 
in  the  foreign  field.  In  Mexico,  14;  West  Indies, 
2 ;  Alaska,  4 ;  among  the  Indians,  -g ;  Japan,  7 ;  China, 
5;  Palestine,  i:  making  a  total  of  42.  The  largest 
number  from  any  other  Friends  college  is  26.  The 
total  nvunber  of  American  missionaries  in  the  field 
is  95,  of  whom  a  large  percentage  are  former  Earlham 
students.  Even  this,  however,  is  not  an  adequate 
criterion  of  the  religious  life  of  the  college,  since 
these  missionary  statistics  are  confined  exclusively 
to  Friends,  who  have  constituted  for  years  an  average 
of  not  much  over  50  per  cent,  of  the  total  enrollment 
of  the  college.  We  are  thankful  for  the  opportunity 
to  make  even  a  slight  contribution  to  the  progress 
of  the  Chtu-ch  of  Jesus  Christ. "  The  above  figures 
do  not  include  the  records  of  the  last  two  years,  which 


INFLUENCE  OF  EARLHAM  343 

would  increase  the  members  both  in  Earlham  and 
in  other  institutions. 

The  above  facts  are  given  with  a  feeling  of  thank- 
fulness to  our  Heavenly  Father  for  his  blessings  upon 
Earlham,  and  with  a  prayer  that  He  may  continue 
to  bless  her  and  all  her  sister  colleges  among  Friends. 


Chapter  XXXIX 

FILLING  VARIOUS  OFFICES  AT  EARLHAM 

The  six  years  during  which  I  held  the  position  of 
superintendent  and  treasurer  of  Earlham  College 
were  active  years,  calling  for  much  labor  and  activity 
to  meet  the  demands.  Many  changes  were  made,  not 
only  in  the  buildings,  but  also  in  the  working  of  the 
institution  and  in  its  internal  management.  Among 
these  was  the  changing  of  school  rooms  into  dormi- 
tory rooms,  in  each  of  which  two  students  studied 
and  slept.  Instead  of  all  the  girls  studying  in  one 
school  room  under  the  care  of  an  officer,  and  all 
the  boys  at  the  other  end  of  the  building  under  simi- 
lar care,  they  now  did  this  studying  in  their  own 
rooms,  which  was  productive  of  much  good.  An- 
other move,  which  was  made  with  considerable  tre- 
pidation on  the  part  of  those  who  had  long  had  the 
care  of  the  institution,  was  permitting  the  scholars  to 
have  their  trunks  taken  to  their  rooms  on  the  various 
floors  in  place  of  having  them  all  in  the  basement 
where  they  had  to  go  to  wash  and  dress.  Hot  and 
cold  water  was  introduced  on  each  floor,  and  bath- 
rooms were  put  in  for  those  living  in  Earlham  Hall. 
A  small  organ  was  placed  in  the  superintendent's 
parlor,  and  the  practice  of  allowing  students  to  meet 
and  play  the  instruments  and  sing  Gospel  hymns  for 
one  hour  on  First-day  afternoon  was  introduced — 
a  practice  that  has  been  kept  up  all  the  years  since 
to  the  help  and  benefit  of  many  of  the  yoimg  people 

(344) 


OFFICES  AT  EARLHAM  345 

in  cultivating  their  gift  of  singing,  which  has  added 
comfort  and  refinement  in  many  homes  to  which 
these  people  belonged.  This  was  before  a  music 
teacher  was  employed  and  the  study  of  vocal  and 
instrumental  music  introduced  into  the  college. 
More  opportunity  was  granted  the  young  men  and 
women  to  walk  together  at  proper  times  and  within 
proper  bounds,  and  other  social  privileges  were 
granted  that  have  had  the  tendency  to  make  the 
government  of  the  institution  easier  and  much  more 
pleasant  by  removing  much  of  the  friction  that  ex- 
isted under  the  old  regime. 

While  my  wife  and  I  were  looking  after  these 
things,  I  found  time  to  visit  all  the  quarterly  meet- 
ings in  the  limits  of  Indiana  and  Western  Yearly 
Meetings  and  those  of  some  other  yearly  meetings, 
soliciting  funds  for  building  and  endowment.  I 
also  visited  many  homes  and  private  individuals  in 
various  portions  of  our  country,  from  Maine  to  the 
far  West.  This  was  especially  laborious  work  and 
added  much  to  my  cares.  In  1885  the  college  found 
itself  with  a  heavy  debt  resting  upon  it,  'originating 
from  various  improvements  made  and  other  sources, 
and  the  trustees  were  anxious  for  me  to  go  to  Eng- 
land and  Ireland  to  solicit  funds.  Our  Friends  on 
that  side  of  the  water  had  taken  an  interest  in  the 
early  history  of  Earlham,  and,  as  we  have  already 
seen,  manifested  it  at  times  in  giving  of  their  means. 
So  in  the  summer  of  1885  I  went  over  and  spent 
three  months  in  going  among  the  dear  Friends  of 
London  and  Dublin  Yearly  Meetings.  My  work 
was  mostly  done  privately,  although  I  attended  the 
yearly  meeting  and  a  few  of  the  quarterly  meetings 
and  several  other  meetings.    I  did  not  feel  at  liberty 


346   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

to  speak  of  my  mission  publicly  except  to  answer 
such  questions  as  might  be  asked  and  to  give  such 
information  as  was  desired.  The  trustees,  in  their 
report  to  the  yearly  meeting  in  that  year,  make  the 
following  allusion  to  this  visit:  "At  our  request 
Allen  Jay  visited  England  in  order  to  present  to  our 
Friends  there  the  educational  interests  of  Friends  in 
America,  not  so  much  with  a  view  to  receiving  pres- 
ent contributions  as  to  impart  definite  information 
which  might  in  the  future  result  in  larger  additions  to 
our  endowment  iund.  He  was  very  kindly  received 
by  our  English  Friends,  who  unexpectedly  invited 
him  to  address  London  Yearly  Meeting  upon  educa- 
tional matters  in  this  country.  He  subsequently 
attended  several  of  the  quarterly  meetings,  in  some 
of  which  he  was  requested  to  speak  on  our  educa- 
tional affairs  and,  as  shown  in  his  report,  a  consid- 
erable amount  of  money  was  subscribed  to  promote 
the  educational  interest  of  Earlham,  which  is  very 
valuable  to  our  material  prosperity.  From  informa- 
tion received  by  some  of  our  boafd  through  private 
correspondence,  we  believe  his  visit  was  opportune. " 
Friends  received  me  kindly  and  gave  an  amount 
sufficient  to  wipe  out  the  debt  and  to  add  a  few 
thousand  dollars  to  our  endowment  fimd,  for  which 
the  college  authorities  were  thankful.  But  I  wish 
to  say  here  that  my  acquaintance  with  English  and 
Irish  Friends  and  the  great  work  they  are  doing 
in  home  and  foreign  mission  work,  educational  and 
general  philanthropic  work  at  home  and  abroad, 
has  led  me  to  the  conclusion  that  the  time  has  come 
when  Friends  in  America  should  cease  calling  upon 
those  in  England  for  financial  aid  in  carrying  on  the 
work  we  are  engaged  in  in  our  own  land.     It  was 


OFFICES  AT  EARLHAM  347 

all  right  when  our  country  was  new  and  our  Friends 
were  largely  farmers,  clearing  their  land  and  labor- 
ing to  get  a  start  in  the  financial  world,  for  our  Eng- 
lish brethren  to  assist  in  building  meeting-houses 
and  starting  schools,  to  give  of  their  abundant  means 
to  help  us  in  this  country  to  lay  the  foundation  for 
the  work  that  was  resting  upon  us.  But  has  not  the 
time  now  come  for  us  freely  to  use  our  own  means? 
I  think  so,  except  in  rare  cases  or  special  circum- 
stances that  may  occasionally  come  up  out  of  the 
ordinary  course  of  events. 

Another  phase  of  the  work  at  Earlham  which  I 
have  already  alluded  to  became  regular  while  I  was 
superintendent.  Each  year  we  held  special  religious 
services  for  all  those  who  made  their  home  in  Earl- 
ham Hall.  It  was  a  privilege  to  take  an  active  part 
in  providing  for  this  work  and  to  take  a  leading 
part  in  carrying  it  forward.  The  meetings  were 
productive  of  much  good,  and  many  date  the  begin- 
ning of  their  Christian  life  to  these  special  meetings. 
The  most  remarkable  of  these  was  the  series  held  in 
the  winter  of  1885.  The  meetings  were  held  imme- 
diately after  supper  and  before  study  hours  com- 
menced. Then  those  who  desired  to  remain  could  do 
so  for  a  while,  when  they  were  more  definitely  encour- 
aged to  decide  for  the  Master.  Some  idea  of  the 
result  of  this  effort  may  be  gained  from  the  follow- 
ing extract  taken  from  President  J.  J.  Mills'  report 
to  the  yearly  meeting  at  the  close  of  that  school  year : 
"  Probably  no  former  year  in  the  history  of  the 
college  has  been  characterized  by  greater  religious 
interest  than  has  the  year  just  passed.  From  the 
opening  of  the  school  year  it  was  comparatively 
rare  for  a  meeting  for  worship  to  close  without  one  or 


348   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

more  testimonies  from  students  to  the  power  of 
Christ  in  their  hearts.  In  the  students '  prayer  meet- 
ings the  spiritual  awakening  was  even  more  earnest, 
resulting  in  numerous  professions  of  conversion. 
Before  the  close  of  the  winter  term  all  but  about 
fifteen  of  the  large  number  of  students  in  attend- 
ance had  professed  faith  in  Jesus  Christ.  The  new 
converts  as  a  rule  remained  firm  tmtil  they  left  for 
their  homes  at  the  close  of  the  college  year.  All  of 
the  senior  class  left  their  alma  mater  to  enter  upon 
their  lifework  as  earnest,  consecrated  men  and 
women." 

In  1884  a  special  coiirse  of  study  was  organized 
for  the  benefit  of  ministers,  Bible  school  teachers  and 
other  Christian  workers  which  was  the  beginning  of 
what  now  is  the  Biblical  department  of  instruction 
at  Earlham  College.  The  establishment  of  this 
special  course  was  an  attempt  to  meet  what  was 
believed  to  be  a  need  of  the  Society  of  Friends  in 
this  day  of  rapid  development  of  evangelistic,  pas- 
toral, Bible  school  and  missionary  work. 

On  account  of  my  wife's  failing  health  her 
strength  was  not  sufficient  for  the  duties  devolving 
upon  her  as  matron,  and  we  felt  it  to  be  right  to 
resign  our  positions  and  retire  to  our  home  near  the 
college. 

Solicitor  for  Earlham 

We  left  Earlham  on  account  of  the  failing 
strength  of  my  dear  wife.  The  trustees  had  entered 
into  an  arrangement  with  me  to  give  much  of  my 
time  to  soliciting  funds  to  build  and  eqmp  two  build- 
ings, which  are  now  called  Parry  Science  Hall  and 
Lindley  Hall.    The  former  received  its  name  from 


OFFICES  AT  EARLHAM  349 

Mordecai  Parry  because  this  friend  had  agreed 
to  give  $5,000  for  its  erection.  The  latter  was 
called  Lindley  Hall  from  the  fact  that  Dr. 
Alfred  Lindley  and  his  wife,  Eliza  H.  Lindley,  gave 
$10,000  towards  the  building.  I  have  no  desire  to 
enter  into  any  detailed  account  of  the  soliciting  I  did 
during  the  next  few  years.  It  is  done,  and  the  re- 
sults speak  for  themselves.  We  can  only  say  that 
greater  funds  had  been  secured  both  for  building  and 
endowment  fiuid.  Those  who  have  not  passed 
through  similar  experiences  will  not  realize  what  a 
drain  it  makes  upon  the  mental  and  physical  life 
to  go  from  meeting  to  meeting,  home  to  home,  and 
individual  to  individual,  persuading  them  to  give 
of  their  means  to  religious  and  educational  work. 
Some  of  those  experiences  are  pleasant  to  look  back 
upon.  Others  are  not.  One  instance  of  the  former 
kind  I  will  mention.  While  at  Friends  Boarding- 
school,  Providence,  a  dear  Friend  living  near  Fall 
River,  Massachusetts,  gave  $1,500  to  help  that  insti- 
tution. Thinking  the  matter  over  one  day,  I  said 
to  my  wife:  "  I  am  going  to  see  Sarah  Slade  and  ask 
her  to  give  me  as  much  for  Earlham  College  as  she 
gave  to  Friends  Boarding-school."  Next  day  I 
started.  When  I  reached  her  home  they  were  pre- 
paring to  go  to  meeting  that  night.  After  supper 
she  asked  if  I  would  go  with  them  to  meeting.  I 
told  her  I  would,  but  that  I  would  like  to  lay  my 
business  before  her  before  going.  I  called  her 
attention  to  what  she  had  done  for  the  boarding- 
school,  told  her  what  we  were  tr3ring  to  do  at  Earl- 
ham College,  and  in  about  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes 
laid  the  whole  subject  before  her.  She  turned  to  the 
friend  having  charge  of  her  accoimt  and  asked  if 


350  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

there  were  money  enough  on  hand  to  pay  that 
amount.  He  replied  that  there  was.  She  added: 
"Give  Allen  Jay  a  check  for  that  amount  and  we 
will  go  to  meeting. "  The  next  morning  I  was  ready 
to  return  home. 

It  was  not  always  so.  I  remember  another 
time  going  to  Massachusetts  to  see  a  man  whom 
I  hoped  to  interest  in  Earlham.  That  was  a 
failure.  He  did  not  give  anjrthing.  After  years  of 
soliciting  funds  I  am  convinced  that  a  large  amount 
of  the  money  given  for  benevolent  work  comes  from 
what  may  be  termed  the  middle  class — those  who  are 
neither  rich  nor  poor.  I  am  glad  to  say  that  there  are 
some  noble  exceptions  to  this  rule.  If  a  man  has 
been  prospered  and  has  made  money  by  saving,  but 
has  lived  to  be  fifty  years  old  without  learning  to  give, 
he  rarely  gives  much.  He  may  possibly  give  it  in 
his  will,  when  he  can  no  longer  hold  it.  It  is  a  cause 
for  thankfulness  that  we  are  now  training  the 
children  to  give  in  our  Bible  schools,  Christian 
Endeavor  and  missionary  societies,  and  in  some 
places  in  the  Church  also.  When  church  members 
give  on  the  first  day  of  the  week  according  as  the 
Lord  has  prospered  them,  then  there  will  be  money 
to  carry  on  Christian,  educational  and  philanthropic 
work.  Then  the  occasions  for  public  appeals  will  be 
more  rare  and  be  confined  to  special  work  and  special 
occasions.  While  the  work  had  its  unpleasant  fea- 
tures, it  had  also  its  pleasant  side.  It  opened  the 
way  for  me  to  go  into  many  Friends  homes  and  be- 
come acquainted  with  them  and  with  their  children, 
which  resulted  not  only  in  my  obtaining  financial 
help,  but  also  in  increasing  the  number  of  students  in 
the  college.     Looking  back  over  those  years,  we  see 


OFFICES  AT  EARLHAM  351 

that  the  number  in  attendance  has  increased.     The 
growth  has  been  in  proportion  to  the  work  done. 

Religious  Visits 

In  addition  to  this  I  often  obtained  minutes  from 
my  meeting  Hberating  me  for  rehgious  service  in 
the  monthly,  quarterly  or  yearly  meeting  where  I 
went.  In  this  way  I  visited  most  of  the  quarterly 
meetings  in  Indiana,  Western,  Ohio  and  Wilmington 
Yearly  Meetings,  besides  many  of  the  other  meetings, 
and  up  to  1898  I  attended  all  the  yearly  meetings 
in  the  United  States  and  Canada  with  which  we  held 
epistolary  correspondence,  and  several  of  them  a 
number  of  times,  my  wife  going  with  me  on  a  number 
of  these  visits.  I  attended  the  opening  of  Wilming- 
ton Yearly  Meeting,  and  in  1895  the  opening  of 
California  Yearly  Meeting  as  a  delegate  from  Indi- 
ana Yearly  Meeting,  the  other  delegate  being  our 
late  friend,  Mary  A.  Goddard.  Others  have  written 
of  the  setting  up  of  California  Yearly  Meeting,  so  I 
pass  it  by,  simply  saying  that  it  was  a  satisfactory 
occasion  and  I  believe  it  was  opened  in  the  ordering 
of  our  Heavenly  Father.  My  wife  being  with  me  on 
this  occasion,  we  held  series  of  meetings  in  a  number 
of  the  meetings  composing  California  and  Oregon 
Yearly  Meetings.  We  returned  home  by  way  of 
Oregon  and  attended  that  yearly  meeting,  which  had 
been  opened  two  years  previously.  These  two  new 
yearly  meetings  on  the  Pacific  coast  are  occupying 
important  positions  in  regard  to  the  future  welfare 
of  ovu"  Church,  especially  along  our  western  coast. 
Whittier  and  Pacific  Colleges  should  claim  a  special 
interest  and  sympathy,  for  the  welfare  of  Califor- 
nia and  Oregon  Yearly  Meetings  largely  depends 


352  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

upon  the  maintenance  and   success  of  these  two 
colleges. 

Superintendent  of  the  Evangelistic  and  Pastoral 
Committee  of  Indiana  Yearly  Meeting 

Besides  the  above  claims  upon  my  time,  I  was  a 
member  of  the  evangelistic  and  pastoral  committee, 
a  member  of  the  executive  committee  of  the  Peace 
Association  of  Friends  in  America,  also  a  member 
of  the  associated  executive  committee  on  Indian 
affairs,  all  of  which  demanded  more  or  less  of  my 
attention.  Especially  was  this  the  case  during  the 
six  years  in  which  I  acted  as  superintendent  of 
evangelistic  and  pastoral  work  of  Indiana  Yearly 
Meeting.  This  was  an  opportunity  that  opened  a 
wide  door  for  great  usefulness.  The  evangelistic 
and  pastoral  committee  was  appointed  twenty-eight 
years  ago  by  Indiana  Yearly  Meeting.  It  has  done 
much  towards  strengthening  the  yearly  meeting.  Its 
duties  are  to  superintend  evangelistic  work,  look 
after  pastoral  work  and  enter  in  and  possess  new 
territory  that  may  present  a  promising  field.  It  was 
first  called  the  committee  on  the  ministry,  then  the 
evangelistic  and  pastoral  committee,  but  now  is 
known  as  the  evangelistic,  pastoral  and  Church  ex- 
tension committee.  It  is  necessary  for  this  commit- 
tee to  be  acquainted  with  the  different  meetings  and 
the  different  workers,  and  to  be  able  to  help  locate 
the  pastors  and  evangelists,  and  have  a  general  super- 
intendence of  the  work  and  the  workers.  It  has 
never  been  the  policy  of  the  committee  to  dictate  who 
should  go  to  certain  meetings  to  act  as  pastors,  but 
where  a  meeting  desired  the  assistance  of  a  resident 
minister,  to  introduce  them  to  each  other  and  then 


OFFICES  AT  EARLHAM  353 

let  them  decide  between  themselves  as  to  the  call 
being  of  the  Lord.  In  the  evangelistic  work  it  was 
highly  important  that  the  one  who  went  to  the  field 
was  able  to  do  the  work  required  in  that  particular 
place. 

It  has  been  of  great  importance  to  be  able  to 
prevent  those  who  are  introducing  disturbing  ele- 
ments, calculated  to  divide  and  scatter  meetings, 
make  contention  and  dissension,  from  coming  into 
the  limits  of  our  yearly  meeting.  It  has  been  the 
course  of  our  committee  to  say  but  little  about  this 
class  except  when  they  came  among  us  and  actually 
produced  trouble  by  their  wild  and  extreme  hobbies 
and  fanatical  doctrines.  It  is  then  their  policy  to 
quietly  advise  the  closing  of  our  meeting-house  doors 
against  them,  Indiana  Yearly  Meeting  having  given 
this  committee  this  power  a  few  years  ago  in  order  to 
avoid  this  fruitful  source  of  trouble.  It  is  a  cause 
for  thankftdness  that  to-day  in  nearly  every  portion 
of  Indiana  Yearly  Meeting  love  and  harmony  are 
prevailing,  and  the  present  prospect  is  that  our  next 
annual  report  will  be  one  of  the  most  satisfactory  we 
have  had  in  a  number  of  years.  It  is  a  cause  for 
thankfulness  to  have  had  the  privilege  of  being  so 
closely  associated  with  the  leading  church  workers 
and  the  vital  interests  of  the  Church's  welfare  both 
present  and  future ;  to  look  back  and  see  the  changes 
that  have  taken  place  in  the  active  work  in  the 
Church  during  the  years  we  have  lived  and  labored, 
and  to  feel  at  times  that  perhaps  we  have  added  our 
mite  to  the  spreading  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom  in 
our  day.  But  at  such  times  it  is  safe  to  remember 
our  infirmities,  to  bear  in  mind  the  language  of  Paul 
where  he  says:  "Lest  by  any  means  when  I  have 

23 


354   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

preached  to  others  I  myself  should  be  a  castaway. " 
It  is  not  our  work  for  the  Church  nor  our  activities 
and  zeal  for  the  cause  of  Christ  that  save  us  and  give 
us  an  inheritance  with  the  saints  in  light,  but  faith 
in  Christ.  Here  I  am  reminded  of  an  incident  in  my 
hfe. 

In  the  year  1873,  after  visiting  the  meetings 
in  Canada  Yearly  Meeting,  on  my  way  home  I 
stopped  and  attended  a  general  meeting  held  at  Win- 
throp,  Maine,  in  a  tent  located  on  the  grounds  of 
Moses  Bailey.  It  was  a  wonderful  meeting.  The 
power  of  the  Lord  was  manifested  and  many  were 
converted.  The  meeting  closed  on  First-day  night. 
Our  friends,  Eli  and  Sybil  Jones,  attended  the  begin- 
ning of  the  meeting.  Then  Sybil  Jones  was  taken 
dangerously  ill,  so  much  so  that  her  friends  almost 
despaired  of  her  life.  On  Second-day  morning, 
before  leaving,  I  called  to  inquire  how  she  was.  She 
requested  that  I  should  come  in,  and  pointed  to  a 
chair  near  where  she  lay  propped  up  in  bed.  Her 
voice  was  weak.  She  referred .  to  the  wonderfiil 
reports  she  had  heard  of  the  meeting  the  day  before, 
and  then  went  on  to  say,  as  near  as  I  can  remember, 
something  like  this :  "  Yesterday  I  was  on  the  border 
of  the  river,  looking  across.  AH  looked  bright  and 
I  began  to  rejoice  that  the  life  battles  were  over  and 
that  I  had  been  faithful,  but  while  reviewing  the 
years  spent  in  the  Master's  service  and  counting  the 
sacrifices  that  I  had  made  in  His  behalf,  a  cloud 
came  over  my  vision  and  I  exclaimed,  'Lord,  what 
does  this  mean?'  The  answer  came  back,  'Not  by 
works  of  righteousness  thou  hast  done,  but  by  my 
own  precious  blood  have  I  saved  thee. '  Immediately 
I  looked  to  Jesus.    Again  all  was  joy  and  peace. " 


OFFICES  AT  EARLHAM  355 

Looking  at  me,  she  raised  her  finger  and  pointing  it 
toward  me  slowly  said,  "Go,  Allen  Jay,  but  wherever 
thou  goest  in  the  world,  preach  salvation  through 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Farewell."  These  were 
thp  last  words  I  ever  heard  her  speak.  She  died  not 
long  afterwards. 


Chapter  XL 

ORIGIN  OF  THE  FIVE  YEARS'  MEETING 

A  Brief  Review  of  the  Origin    of   the    Five    Years* 

Meeting,  the  Preparation  of  the  Declaration  of 

Faithy    and  the  Adoption  of  the  Uniform 

Discipline 

In  preparing  this  short  history  of  these  facts,  I 
wish  to  acknowledge  that  I  have  drawn  largely  from 
a  lecture  given  by  Timothy  Nicholson  before  the 
Christian  Endeavor  Society  of  Friends  Church, 
Indianapolis,  and  later  before  the  one  at  Fairmount, 
Indiana.  I  have  also  had  access  to  all  the  published 
proceedings  of  the  various  quinquennial  conferences 
and  of  the  Five  Years'  Meeting  up  to  date.  In  all 
ages  of  the  Church,  God  has  had  men  who,  as  some 
in  the  tribe  of  Issachar  in  David's  time,  have  had 
understanding  of  the  signs  of  the  times  and  knew 
what  Israel  ought  to  do.  Such  men  have  had  ideals 
sometimes  so  far  in  advance  that  they  have  had  to 
wait  for  the  mass  of  the  people  to  be  educated  up  to 
the  visions  God  had  given  them  before  it  was  safe 
to  proclaim  them.  I  have  seen  it  stated  that  John 
Woolman  said  that  he  waited  some  years  before  he 
was  at  liberty  to  tell  Philadelphia  Yearly  Meeting 
all  he  had  seen  of  the  evils  of  slavery  and  the  posi- 
tion that  God  called  that  yearly  meeting  to  take  on 
that  great  issue.  Perhaps  Barnabas  C.  Hobbs,  of 
Western  Yearly  Meeting,  had  understanding  of  the 

(356) 


FIVE  YEARS'  MEETING  357 

signs  of  the  times  when  he  wrote  the  proposition,  an 
extract  from  which  was  sent  to  all  the  other  yearly- 
meetings  in  a  postscript  to  Western  Yearly  Meeting's 
epistles  in  1870.  "This  meeting  has  been  intro- 
duced into  a  desire  for  a  more  perfect  union  among 
the  different  yearly  meetings  of  Europe  and  America. 
There  are  many  departments  of  Christian  labor  of 
common  interest  that  call  for  united  counsel.  *  *  * 
We  apprehend  that  a  general  council,  composed  of 
representatives  appointed  by  the  several  yearly  meet- 
ings, would  have  a  harmonizing  and  unifying  effect 
upon  our  common  Society  and  render  the  whole  and 
its  parts  more  truly  supportive  of  each  other ;  whose 
conclusions  and  recommendations  shall  only  be 
advisory  in  their  nature.  Should  this  proposition 
meet  with  general  approval,  we  would  suggest  that 
the  first  meeting  be  held  in  the  State  of  New  York, 
immediately  after  Canada  Yearly  Meeting,  in  1872. " 
Indiana  Yearly  Meeting,  which  occurred  the  follow- 
ing week,  referred  this  proposition  to  a  committee 
to  report  in  187 1 .  The  report  was  in  substance  that 
"the  way  did  not  open  to  accept  the  proposition  at 
this  time." 

Similar  action  was  taken  by  several  other  yearly 
meetings.  Therefore  no  general  conference  was 
held.  Widely  separated  as  American  yearly  meet- 
ings were,  and  there  being  no  permanent  bond  of 
union  between  them  except  that  of  epistolary  cor- 
respondence, there  grew  up  a  spirit  of  independence 
and  neglect  of  co-operation.  This  independence  on 
the  part  of  certain  prominent  members  in  one  or 
more  yearly  meetings  was  manifested  in  some  of  the 
epistolary  correspondence.  Differences  of  opinion 
in  these  epistles  sometimes  led  to  earnest  exhorta- 


35S   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

tion,  now  and  then  bordering  on  criticism.  This 
kind  of  correspondence  was  the  basis  of  the  prop- 
osition of  Western  Yearly  Meeting  in  1875.  In  that 
same  year,  1875,  Indiana  Yearly  Meeting  adopted 
the  following  as  the  iinited  judgment  of  the  meet- 
ing: "We  feel  called  upon  at  this  time  to  reaffirm 
the  views  always  held  by  Friends  upon  the  subject 
of  baptism  and  the  supper.  We  believe  that  the 
baptism  which  essentially  pertains  to  the  present 
dispensation  is  that  of  Christ,  who  baptizes  His 
people  with  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  that  the  true 
communion  is  a  spiritual  partaking  of  the  body  and 
blood  of  Christ.  Therefore  we  believe  it  to  be  incon- 
sistent for  any  one  to  be  acknowledged  or  retained 
in  the  position  of  minister  or  elder  among  us  who 
continues  to  participate  in  or  teach  the  necessity  of 
the  outward  rite  of  baptism  or  of  the  supper. " 

Again,  in  1885,  the  following  minute  was  adopted 
by  Indiana  Yearly  Meeting:  "  Having  learned  with 
sorrow  that  certain  individuals  holding  the  position 
of  ministers  of  the  gospel  in  one  of  the  co-ordinate 
bodies  of  the  Society  of  Friends  have  partaken  of 
the  rites  of  water  baptism  and  of  the  bread  and  wine 
in  the  so-called  communion  of  the  Lord's  Supper, 
some  of  whom  have  administered  these  rites  to  others 
and  have  been  holding  meetings  within  the  limits  of 
Indiana  Yearly  Meeting,  and  advocated  publicly  and 
privately  their  views,  which  are  contrary  to  the  testi- 
monies which  the  Society  of  Friends  have  always 
maintained  as  to  the  spiritual  nature  of  Christ's 
Kingdom,  and  to  the  declaration  of  faith  in  our  book 
of  discipline,  and  to  the  united  judgment  of  our 
yearly  meeting  in  1875  ;  now  in  order  to  protect  our 
membership    from    such   influences   and   teaching, 


FIVE  YEARS'  MEETING  359 

all  of  our  meetings  are  advised  to  refuse  to  receive  as 
acceptable  ministers  of  the  gospel,  whether  members 
of  other  yearly  meetings  or  of  our  own,  those  teach- 
ing doctrines  or  practicing  rites  contrary  to  the  above 
declaration  of  faith  and  minute  of  the  yearly  meet- 
ing. Their  minute  or  certificates  should  not  be  read 
in  our  meetings,  nor  should  meetings  be  appointed 
for  them  in  our  meeting-houses,  nor  should  they  be 
encouraged  to  labor  within  our  borders." 

For  the  foregoing  reasons  and  some  others,  the 
concern  of  Western  Yearly  Meeting  in  1870  and 
1875  was  still  a  living  concern  with  several  of  the 
leading  Friends  of  Indiana  and  other  yearly  meet- 
ings. One  evening  during  yearly  meeting,  in  1886, 
at  the  table  of  Timothy  Nicholson  were  seated  Wil- 
liam O.  Newhall,  of  New  England;  Mary  Underhill, 
of  New  York;  William  L.  Pearson,  then  of  North 
Carolina;  Barnabas  C.  Hobbs,  of  Western;  Isom  P. 
Wooton,  of  Iowa;  and  Francis  W.  Thomas,  of 
Indiana  Yearly  Meeting.  During  the  meal  the  host 
introduced  the  subject  of  a  conference  of  delegates 
from  all  the  yearly  meetings.  The  matter  was  dis- 
cussed with  much  interest  and  with  entire  unanimity 
of  judgment  that  the  time  had  come  for  such  a 
meeting,  and  Francis  W.  Thomas  was  requested  to 
introduce  the  subject  to  the  yearly  meeting  the  next 
day. 

This  was  done,  and  the  following  minute  was 
united  with  by  the  meeting :  "  The  subject  of  a  con- 
ference of  committees  from  the  different  yearly 
meetings  in  America  with  which  we  correspond, 
having  been  introduced  into  this  meeting,  after 
deliberate  consideration  it  was  believed  that  the 
holding  of  such  a  conference  to  consider  matters 


36o  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

pertaining  to  the  welfare  of  our  branch  of  the  Church 
would  strengthen  the  bond  of  Christian  fellowship 
amongst  us  and  tend  to  promote  unity  in  important 
matters  of  faith  and  practice  in  the  different  bodies 
into  which  Friends  in  a  manner  are  divided.  We 
are  therefore  imited  in  proposing  to  our  sister  yearly- 
meetings  in  America  that  such  a  conference  be  held, 
and  that  it  be  composed  of  delegates  appointed  by 
the  different  yearly  meetings,  its  conclusions  to  be 
only  advisory,  but  at  least  five  yearly  meetings  must 
unite  in  it  or  the  conference  not  be  held.  We  also 
propose  that  such  a  conference  he  held  next  year, 
1887,  in  Richmond,  Indiana,  beginning  on  Sixth-day, 
following  the  close  of  Western  Yearly  Meeting,  at 
9  A.  M. "  Then  followed  the  names  of  twelve  dele- 
gates. "And  we  further  propose  that  a  cordial 
invitation  be  extended  to  London  and  Dublin  Yearly 
Meetings  to  send  delegates  to  this  conference.  This 
minute  is  directed  to  be  appended  to  the  epistles  to 
the  different  yearly  meetings  with  which  we  cor- 
respond."  All  the  yearly  meetings  in  the  world 
with  which  we  corresponded  accepted  the  proposition 
of  Indiana  Yearly  Meeting,  and  the  conference  was 
held  at  the  time  and  place  proposed.  Those  who  had 
given  the  most  thought  to  the  conditions  in  our 
several  yearly  meetings,  and  who  advocated  the 
holding  of  such  a  conference,  hoped  that  in  this  way 
one  declaration  of  faith  or  Christian  doctrine  and  one 
uniform  discipline  for  all  the  American  yearly  meet- 
ings could  be  agreed  upon,  and  that  ultimately  the 
advisory  conference  would  result  in  a  permanent 
body  with  certain  delegated  powers. 

It  is  not  my  purpose  to  give  a  detailed  account 
of  the  various  quinquennial  conferences  and  the  dis- 


FIVE  YEARS'  MEETING  361 

cussions  which  finally  restilted  in  the  declaration  of 
faith,  in  the  uniform  discipline,  in  the  formation  of 
the  American  Friends  Board  of  Foreign  Missions, 
and  the  establishing  of  the  Five  Years'  Meeting  in 
1902,  for  these  discussions  are  matters  of  history  and 
are  published  in  the  minutes  and  proceedings  of 
each  meeting,  and  will  be  interesting  reading  for 
the  future  historian  of  our  Society.  Our  young 
Friends  should  read  and  study  them,  that  they  may 
know  how  all  these  conclusions  were  finally  reached. 
A  few  facts  about  the  writing  of  the  declaration  of 
faith  may  be  interesting  and  worth  preserving. 
After  the  organization  of  the  conference  the  first 
question  proposed  for  discussion  was:  "Is  it  desir- 
able that  all  the  yearly  meetings  of  Friends  in  the 
world  should  adopt  one  declaration  of  Christian  doc- 
trine?" 

One  entire  session  was  devoted  to  the  discussion 
of  the  question,  more  than  twenty  delegates  from 
nine  yearly  meetings  taking  part,  and  all  but  one 
in  the  affirmative.  A  committee  of  twelve  was  ap- 
pointed to  draft  the  said  declaration  of  faith,  which 
was,  after  free  discussion,  approved  by  the  conference 
and  subsequently  adopted  or  approved  by  all  the 
American  yearly  meetings  except  Ohio.  The  com- 
mittee met,  and  different  ones  were  appointed  to 
prepare  certain  sections  of  the  declaration,  but  the 
greater  portion  of  it  was  prepared  by  our  late  dear 
friend,  Joseph  Bevan  Braithwaite,  of  London  Yearly 
Meeting.  It  was  written  at  the  desk  where  I  am 
now  sitting.  When  he  left  home,  thinking  that 
something  of  the  kind  might  claim  the  attention  of 
the  conference,  he  put  in  with  his  baggage  several 
books  and  manuscripts  that  were  prepared  by  the 


362   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

earlier  writers  among  Friends  and  had  not  been 
changed  by  Friends  of  more  recent  date  in  this 
coiintry  or  anywhere  else.  His  remark  was:  "We 
want  the  original  Quakerism  free  from  the  influence 
and  thought  of  some  of  our  Friends  who  have  im- 
bibed some  of  the  spirit  and  practice  of  other 
denominations  or  have  been  influenced  by  their 
environments. "  Our  dear  friend  worked  early  and 
late  when  not  in  the  conference.  I  remember  lying 
on  the  lounge  until  he  quit  writing  near  midnight, 
and  then  taking  him  to  the  dining  room  and  getting 
him  something  to  eat  before  he  retired.  Then  in 
the  morning  he  was  up  before  anyone  else.  This  was 
the  case  for  two  nights.  Before  it  was  presented  to 
the  conference  it  was  gone  over  carefully,  Joseph 
Bevan  Braithwaite  sitting  at  the  desk  reading  care- 
fully what  had  been  written,  Dr.  James  E.  Rhoads, 
of  Philadelphia,  looking  over  the  quotations  from 
Friends  writings  to  see  that  they  were  correct 
quoted,  and  Dr.  James  Carey  Thomas,  of  Baltimore, 
watching  the  Scriptiu"e  quotations  to  see  that  there 
were  no  mistakes  made  there.  They  have  all  three 
passed  away,  but  their  work  remains.  Next  morn- 
ing, after  it  was  adopted  by  the  conference,  Joseph 
Bevan  Braithwaite  handed  me  the  pen  he  wrote  it 
with  and  said:  "Thee  may  have  tjiat  to  keep."  I 
have  it  yet. 

The  subject  of  establishing  a  conference  of  yearly 
meetings  with  certain  delegated  powers,  to  meet  at 
stated  periods,  was  ably  treated  and  agitated  in  a. 
paper  written  and  read  by  Dr.  William  Nicholson, 
of  Kansas  Yearly  Meeting.  He  pointed  out  the 
importance  of  it,  and  with  a  perfect  insight  he  por- 
trayed what  we  now  have  in  the  Five  Years'  Meeting. 


FIVE  YEARS'  MEETING  363 

There  was  no  time  to  discuss  it,  but  the  yearly  meet- 
ings were  requested  to  consider  the  subject.  While 
there  was  no  time  to  enter  upon  the  consideration 
of  this  important  matter,  it  was  interesting  to  notice 
that  the  opposition  to  this  and  other  advanced  steps, 
such  as  the  uniform  discipline  and  the  American 
Friends  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  came  from  those 
occupying  extreme  views,  conservatives  or  radicals. 
The  extremes  met  in  opposing  movements  calciilated 
to  unite  the  Church.  People  who  have  extreme 
views  either  way  as  a  rule  are  not  safe  leaders. 
They  can  see  but  one  side  of  a  question.  Indeed  they 
would  have  people  believe  there  is  but  one  side,  and 
that  one  their  side.  A  friend  of  mine  who  was  a  great 
educator  once  remarked  to  me :  "Only  a  few  men  can 
see  both  sides  of  a  question, "  but  Dr.  William 
Nicholson  read  the  signs  of  the  times  and  knew  what 
Israel  ought  to  do.  Such  men  are  bom  leaders,  but 
have  to  wait  sometimes.  He  said:  "Such a  meeting 
will  be  organized  some  day  and  will  have  a  beneficial 
effect  in  strengthening  and  unifying  the  Church." 
He  saw  the  finger  of  God  pointing  in  that  direction. 
Such  men  labor,  and  other  men  enter  into  their 
labors.  To-day  our  branch  of  the  Church  needs  men 
who  have  "understanding  of  the  signs  of  the  times 
and  know  what  Israel  ought  to  do";  men  whose 
vision  is  forward,  and  not  backward;  men  who  see 
good  and  not  evil  in  the  future  for  the  Church ;  men 
who  are  laboring  to  unite  rather  than  to  divide  the 
Church;  men  who  tell  us  that  the  hand  of  God  is 
good  upon  us.  So  that  Friends  may  say  one  to 
another  imder  their  leadership:  "Let  us  arise  and 
build." 


Chapter  XLI 

THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE   BIBLE   INSTITUTE 

The  beginning  of  the  Bible  institute  came  about 
in  this  way.  While  acting  as  superintendent  of  the 
evangelistic  and  pastoral  committee  of  Indiana 
Yeariy  Meeting,  I  was  impressed  with  the  import- 
ance of  our  ministers  giving  more  time  to  the  study 
of  the  Bible.  While  our  First-day  school  conven- 
tions and.  Christian  Endeavor  assemblies  and  minis- 
terial conferences  had  their  places  and  were  doing  a 
great  work  in  stirring  up  an  interest  in  these  various 
fields  of  labors,  yet  this  interest  was  too  superficial 
and  temporary  to  meet  the  needs  of  our  ministers 
and  Christian  workers.  This  was  fully  demon- 
strated when  the  Bible  institute  was  started  and  the 
study  of  the  Bible  was  more  thoroughly  introduced 
through  lectures  that  required  thought  and  research 
to  follow  and  enjoy.  It  was  nothing  unusual  to  hear 
those  who  had  been  accustomed  to  the  excitement  of 
revival  work  and  who  had  listened  to  the  addresses 
and  lectures  given  before  the  Bible  school  assemblies 
and  Christian  Endeavor  conventions,  which  were 
filled  with  anecdotes  and  exciting  illustrations 
intended  to  move  the  emotions  and  stir  up  the  feel- 
ings for  the  time,  to  say:  "We  do  not  enjoy  these 
Bible  institutes.  We  want  to  be  out  'saving  souls.  * 
We  want  to  do  something  more  practical.  These 
studies  are  too  dry  for  us."  This  is  the  same 
argimient  often  heard  from  the  college  boy  when  his 

(364) 


BIBLE  INSTITUTE  365 

father  wants  him  to  remain  in  college:  "I  want  to 
get  into  business.  I  want  to  make  money. "  It 
was  the  same  hurry  for  visible  results  that  first  pre- 
vailed in  regard  to  going  into  the  foreign  mission 
work.  If  some  missionary  had  the  zeal  and  wanted 
to  go,  the  Church  laid  its  hands  on  him  and  sent 
him  forth,  but  after  many  failur  s  and  a  great  waste 
of  time  and  money,  no  foreign  mission  board  to-day 
that  is  worthy  of  the  name  will  accept  a  candidate 
for  the  mission  field  who  has  not,  along  with  the 
zeal,  a  trained  mind,  and  who  has  not  studied  to  pre- 
pare himself  for  the  field  where  he  is  to  go.  And 
if,  in  addition  to  his  religious  training,  he  has  some 
medical  knowledge,  so  much  the  better.  Yes,  and 
the  subject  of  bodily  health  is  now  included  in  the 
curriciilum  of  the  more  advanced  foreign  missionary 
board. 

The  future  minister  of  the  Gospel  in  our 
branch  of  the  Chtirch  must  recognize  the  fact  that 
along  with  his  call  and  zeal  there  must  be  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  Bible  and  of  Christian  work  that  he  will 
only  obtain  by  thorough  work  and  real  study  and 
research  that  will  fill  his  mind  with  "  things  new  and 
old"  that  the  Spirit  can  draw  upon  when  he  stands 
before  the  congregation.  Our  congregations  are 
being  filled  more  and  more  by  persons  who  know 
more  than  the  minister,  who  weigh  him  and  decide 
wherein  he  is  wanting.  They  have  their  spiritual 
experiences  as  well  as  the  minister,  and  know  that 
which  feeds  the  soul  and  builds  up  the  spiritual  man. 
The  minister  who  ignores  these  facts  may  satisfy  for 
a  season,  but  soon  he  will  find  he  is  not  wanted. 
The  congregations  may  be  kind  to  him  and  treat  him 
gently  for  what  he  has  been,  but  when  the  oppor- 


366   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

tunity  offers  he  will  find  himself  in  the  rear.  Others 
will  be  put  forward.  If  we  have  neglected  the  prep- 
aration we  must  not  murmur.  If  they  have  grown 
tired  of  our  oft-repeated  sermons  and  turn  to  fresher 
ones  with  new  thoughts  and  fresh  life  in  them,  we 
must  not  complain.  It  was  this  view  of  the  future 
of  our  Church  that  impressed  me  with  the  idea  of 
making  an  effort  to  call  as  many  ministers  and 
Christian  workers  together  at  Earlham  College  as 
I  could.  Our  evangelistic  and  pastoral  committee 
had  no  money,  but  they  were  willing  that  as  super- 
intendent I  should  try  my  plan.  I  wrote  an  appeal, 
explaining  what  we  wanted  to  do  and  the  object  we 
desired  to  accomplish.  One  himdred  of  these  let- 
ters were  sent  to  my  friends,  asking  them  to  send 
whatever  amount  they  felt  it  was  right  for  them  to 
give.  The  trustees  were  asked  to  let  us  have  the 
use  of  the  buildings  and  groimds  at  Earlham. 
Notice  was  sent  to  the  various  monthly  meetings  in 
the  three  yearly  meetings  of  Indiana,  Western  and 
Wilmington,  inviting  the  ministers  and  workers  to 
come.  When  the  time  arrived,  between  thirty  and 
forty  of  this  class  were  present,  and  the  twelve  days ' 
program  was  carried  out  to  the  satisfaction  of  those 
present.  Money  enough  came  in  to  pay  the  board 
and  all  other  expenses  of  those  who  came,  and  $ioo 
was  left  after  the  entire  expenses  were  met.  That 
$ioo  was  turned  over  to  the  Biblical  department  of 
Earlham  College. 

Such  was  the  beginning  of  this  work,  which  I 
believe  has  been  greatly  blessed  to  many  who  have 
come  imder  its  influence.  The  following  year  the 
yearly  meeting  was  requested  to  assume  control  of 
the  movement.    This  resulted  in  an  invitation  to 


BIBLE  INSTITUTE  367 

Western  and  Wilmington  Yearly  Meetings  to  unite 
in  the  control  of  the  same,  which  they  have  done 
up  to  this  time.  While  there  have  been  those  who 
have  foimd  fault,  as  is  the  case  in  all  onward  move- 
ments, yet  as  those  who  have  availed  themselves  of 
its  benefits  are  the  ones  who  are  in  demand  or 
teachers  and  religious  workers  of  various  kinds  in 
the  different  yearly  meetings,  the  wisdom  of  the 
movement  is  demonstrated. 


Chapter  XLII 

THE  OPENING  OF  CALIFORNIA  YEARLY 
MEETING. 

During  the  next  few  years  I  attended  several  of 
the  yearly  meetings  and  engaged  in  such  religious 
work  as  appeared  to  be  right.  In  1888  I  attended 
Ohio  and  Iowa  Yearly  Meetings.  In  1889  I  at- 
tended Canada  Yearly  Meeting,  my  wife  going 
with  me.  In  1890  my  wife  and  I  attended  Balti- 
more Yearly  Meeting  and  the  opening  of  Wilming- 
ton Yearly  Meeting  in  1892.  During  the  latter 
year,  as  yeariy  meeting  superintendent,  I  visited  the 
Friends  in  Florida  belonging  to  Indiana  Yeariy 
Meeting.  In  1895,  when  Iowa  Yeariy  Meeting  set 
up  California  Yearly  Meeting  at  Whittier,  Cali- 
fornia, Indiana  Yearly  Meeting -donated  $1,000  to 
assist  them  in  the  beginning  of  their  work,  and 
appointed  Mary  H.  Goddard  and  myself  to  attend 
the  opening  as  delegates  representing  our  yearly 
meeting.  A  number  of  Friends  from  Ohio,  Indiana 
and  Western  Yearly  Meetings  also  went  as  visitors 
to  the  yearly  meeting.  Accord infj:  to  the  arrange- 
ments made,  twenty-two  of  us  left  Chicago  in  the 
same  tourist  sleeper  on  the  Santa  F6  Railroad.  My 
wife  went  with  me.  We  had  a  minute  from  our 
meet'ng  at  home  liberating  us  to  attend  the  meet- 
ings of  California  Yearly  Meeting,  and  also  Oregon 
Yearly  Meeting  and  the  meetings  belonging  to  it. 

We  had  a  very  pleasant  trip.  There  were 
(368) 


CALIFORNIA  YEARLY  MEETING    369 

several  ministers  in  the  company.  It  was  cus- 
tomary, after  breakfast  was  over  and  things  were 
straightened  up,  to  have  a  season  of  divine  worship, 
which  consisted  in  reading  the  Bible,  singing  hymns, 
and  prayer,  in  which  nearly  all  took  part.  After 
the  first  morning  others  requested  the  privilege  of 
coming  in  from  other  cars  in  the  train.  The  con- 
ductor entered  into  the  arrangement,  and  the  time 
selected  was  the  one  most  convenient  for  him.  Walk- 
ing on  the  platform  at  a  station  while  the  train  was 
taking  water  and  making  some  changes,  the  engineer 
came  up  to  me  and  inquired :  "  Do  you  belong  to  that 
car  that  has  religious  services  each  morning?"  He 
added;  "I  wish  I  could  attend  them,  but  we  men 
do  not  get  much  opportunity  for  anything  like  that. " 
The  last  morning  the  car  was  full.  It  is  pleasant 
to  look  back  to  those  occasions  and  the  company  that 
met,  but  we  are  widely  separated  now.  Perhaps 
some  may  have  been  blessed.  We  are  commanded 
to  sow  seed  by  all  waters. 

Pasadena  was  safely  reached,  and  our  train  was 
on  time.  We  were  met  by  Friends,  who  kindly  cared 
for  us.  The  next  day  a  company  of  ten  or  twelve 
us  of  were  driven  across  the  country  in  a  tallyho  to 
Whittier.  It  was  a  beautiful  day,  and  we  enjoyed 
the  scenery  very  much.  A  warm  welcome  awaited 
us.  The  next  morning  the  yearly  meeting  opened.  I 
need  not  dwell  much  on  that,  for  its  history  is  known, 
but  there  were  some  features  of  it  that  were  inter- 
esting. When  we  met  in  the  college  building  it  was 
a  great  surprise  to  see  so  many  that  I  knew.  On 
the  way  my  wife  had  remarked  that  when  we  reached 
California  we  would  be  among  strangers.  On  the 
contrary,  upon  taking  my  seat  and  looking  over  the 

24 


370  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

company,  I  recognized  nearly  half  as  Friends  that 
I  had  met  in  the  various  yearly  meetings  along  the 
Atlantic  coast  and  the  yeariy  meetings  in  the  middle 
West,  and  a  few  from  London.  A  larger  proportion 
were  from  Indiana,  Western  and  Iowa,  the  latter 
having  more  representatives  than  any  other  one.  It 
was  an  intelligent  and  earnest  body  of  Friends,  many 
of  them  having  come  from  meetings  where  they  had 
been  active  members  in  Church  work ;  so  they  were 
prepared  to  do  their  part  in  forming  and  organizing 
a  strong  yearly  meeting  and  in  carrying  it  forward, 
there  being,  however,  one  element  of  danger  in  this 
imique  situation. 

The  strong  men  and  women  had  their  own 
ideas  of  the  proper  manner  of  conducting  the 
business  of  a  yearly  meeting,  each  being  guided 
by  the  way  in  which  it  was  done  in  the  yearly  meet- 
ing from  which  he  came.  Those  who  are  acquainted 
with  all  the  yearly  meetings  in  America,  each  having 
its  special  territory,  widely  separated  from  each 
other,  know  the  peculiar  characteristics  belonging 
to  each  one.  Each  differs  from  the  other  in  some 
respect,  and  there  is  nothing  to  bring  these  different 
methods  into  harmony  except  epistolary  correspond- 
ence and  the  visiting  of  ministers  traveling  in 
"truth's  service,"  these  latter  being  much  more 
beneficial  than  at  the  time  was  recognized.  These 
visits  were  undertaken  by  the  minister  under  a 
"religious  concern"  to  preach  the  Gospel  and  to 
build  up  the  Church,  but  as  we  look  back  to-day  we 
can  see  that  they  did  much  to  unify  the  meetings, 
draw  the  bond  of  Christian  love  tighter  and  keep  the 
spirit  of  separation  down.  It  was  beautiful,  from 
session  to  session,  though  they  had  strong  opinions 


CALIFORNIA  YEARLY  MEETING    371 

of  their  own,  to  witness  their  yielding  one  to  another 
and  uniting  in  love  and  harmony  in  the  transaction  of 
the  business  that  came  before  them  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  this  yearly  meeting,  which  was  destined  to 
play  so  important  a  part  in  the  growth  of  Quakerism 
on  the  Pacific  coast. 

As  the  time  has  rolled  on  the  same  spirit  has 
enabled  the  dear  Friends  of  that  yearly  meeting 
to  assimilate  the  various  elements  that  have 
continued  to  flow  into  its  borders  from  other 
yearly  meetings.  Perhaps  there  is  a  greate  vari- 
ety of  opinions  and  shades  of  belief  entering  into 
the  membership  of  that  yearly  meeting  than  of  any 
other,  yet  they  have  continued  to  labor  together  with 
more  or  less  harmony.  Whittier  College  has  done 
much  to  make  it  a  center  of  great  influence  in  the 
field  it  occupies,  and  as  its  membership  becomes  more 
united  in  the  college  its  strength  will  increase  and  its 
stability  will  be  assured.  California  Yearly  Meeting 
has  also  been  permeated  with  a  real  missionary 
spirit,  which  always  has  a  reflex  influence  upon  the 
meeting  that  is  engaged  in  reaching  out  into  new 
fields.  So  we  must  believe  that  the  opening  of  this 
yearly  meeting  was  in  the  ordering  of  the  great  Head 
of  the  Church  and  has  been  instrumental  in  the  build- 
ing up  of  His  Kingdom. 

After  the  close  of  the  yearly  meeting  my  wife 
and  I  visited  most  of  the  meetings  belonging  to  it, 
holding  a  series  of  meetings  in  several  places,  espe- 
cially in  Whittier  and  Pomona.  Having  finished 
otir  work  in  that  yearly  meeting  at  Berkeley,  we 
then  went  on  to  Newberg,  Oregon,  where  we  had 
a  pleasant  time  and  found  an  open  door  for  preach- 
ing   the    Gospel    while    attending    Oregon    Yearly 


S72   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

Meeting,  which  was  the  first  one  established  on  the 
Pacific  coast,  having  been  set  up  in  1893.  Here 
again  we  found  many  Friends  from  Eastern  yearly- 
meetings,  though  not  in  such  great  variety  as  in 
California.  The  dear  Friends  here  had  shown  great 
enterprise  and  liberality  in  starting  Pacific  College 
and  building  a  good  and  substantial  meeting-house 
for  the  yearly  meeting.  Here  again  at  the  close  of 
the  yearly  meeting  we  visited  the  meetings  belong- 
ing to  it.  In  looking  back  at  the  Friends  of  Oregon 
we  feel  now,  as  we  did  then,  that  they  should  have 
the  sympathy  and  help  of  other  Friends  in  the 
Eastern  yearly  meetings.  Certainly  Pacific  College 
is  located  in  an  important  field  and  is  fulfilling  a 
real  mission.  I  trust  the  day  is  not  far  off  when 
they  will  receive  more  financial  aid. 
From  there  we  returned  home. 


Chapter  XLIII 

WINTER  IN  ALABAMA  AND  FLORIDA 

My  dear  wife,  who  had  been  faihng  in  health  for 
several  years,  now  became  so  feeble  that  we  decided 
to  try  a  warmer  climate  during  the  winter  of  1897. 
After  some  inquiries  we  decided  to  go  to  Evergreen, 
Alabama,  located  on  the  Louisville  and  Nashville 
Railroad,  about  fifty  miles  north  of  Mobile.  We 
reached  there  and  went  to  the  leading  hotel  to  board 
untU  we  should  have  had  time  to  look  around  and 
find  rooms  where  we  might  set  up  housekeeping  for 
ourselves.  There  were  a  number  of  boarders,  and 
on  the  second  night  there  was  a  move  to  have  a  dance 
and  a  general  good  time.  With  true  Southern 
politeness,  I  was  invited  to  take  part  in  the  dance. 
When  I  plead  ignorance  in  that  line,  an  elderly 
gentleman  took  pity  on  me  and  invited  me  to  take 
part  in  a  game  of  cards.  When  I  told  him  I  did 
not  know  one  card  from  another  he  looked  surprised. 
At  this  stage  an  old  gentleman  came  to  my  help 
with  a  look  of  real  sympathy  on  his  face  and  asked 
me  to  drink  some  wine  with  him  and  have  a  smoke, 
and  when  I  replied  that  I  neither  drank  nor  smoked, 
he  looked  at  me  for  a  moment  and  exclaimed,  "  Well, 
what  do  you  do?"  When  we  had  watched  for  a 
while  their  proceedings,  imtil  they  finally  got  the 
ball  started  and  all  appeared  to  be  enjoying  them- 
selves, we  retired  to  rest,  impressed  with  what  trash 
they  were  willing  to  feed  upon  and  call  it  enjoyment. 

(373) 


374  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

What  poor  food  for  either  mind  or  body!  It  was 
continued  until  a  late  hour,  and  some  had  to  be 
carried  to  bed,  and  the  next  day  they  were  a  sorry 
looking  set,  little  prepared  for  real  lifework.  It  is 
sad  to  see  life  wasted  in  such  manner.  Such  people 
do  not  know  what  true  living  is. 

We  were  soon  nicely  located  in  a  couple  of  rooms, 
where  we  did  otir  own  housekeeping.  Evergreen 
was  a  town  of  some  3,000  inhabitants,  with  an 
institution  of  learning  located  there  to  which  they 
gave  the  name  of  "academy."  My  wife,  being 
feeble,  did  not  get  out  much.  I  attended  a  Metho- 
dist Bible  school  and  their  meetings  on  First-day, 
which  were  held  every  other  First-day,  and  on  the 
day  that  there  was  no  service  at  the  Methodist 
Church  I  went  to  the  Baptist  service  and  attended 
their  Young  People's  Society  in  the  afternoon.  The 
Baptist  was  the  largest  congregation  and  the  richest 
and  most   influential  denomination  in  the   place. 

The  Methodist  leader  who  had  a  class  of  older 
persons,  in  their  Bible  school  was  taken  sick  about 
three  weeks  after  we  reached  there.  The  superin- 
tendent invited  me  to  take  the  class,  which  I  did. 
It  soon  got  rumored  through  the  town  that  we  were 
Quakers  and  that  I  was  a  minister.  We  were 
curiosities.  From  that  time  I  became  a  "speckled 
bird"  in  the  town,  and  had  many  opportimities  to 
discuss  theology.  I  never  enjoyed  splitting  hairs 
on  doctrine,  but  felt  the  deep  need  of  living  Christ 
before  the  people,  who  were  very  friendly  and  came 
often  to  visit  us  and  ask  questions.  We  prayed  that 
the  Lord  would  make  our  stay  a  blessing  to  the 
churches,  for  religion  was  at  a  low  ebb  in  all,  the 
churches  having  but  few  members.    My  class  in 


ALABAMA  AND  FLORIDA  375 

the  Bible  schcx)l  increased  so  that  we  had  to  have  a 
larger  space  to  meet  in,  and  when  the  teacher 
returned  he  went  into  the  class  and  told  me  to  go 
ahead.  I  did  away  with  reading  the  questions  and 
the  class  reading  the  answers,  and  our  class  hour 
became  a  time  of  much  interest.  The  Baptist 
Young  People's  Society  called  upon  me  several 
times  to  address  them,  which  I  gladly  did,  for  their 
meetings  had  a  large  number  of  young  people. 
One  First-day  evening  the  Methodist  minister 
asked  me  to  preach  for  him,  which  I  did,  my  wife 
saying,  "I  have  been  praying  that  the  way  might 
open  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  them. "  The  name  of 
Quaker  brought  a  crowded  house.  A  few  days 
later,  meeting  the  Baptist  minister,  he  said,  frankly, 
"Brother  Jay,  I  wotdd  be  glad  to  invite  you  to 
preach  in  my  pulpit,  but  the  officers  of  my  church 
do  not  believe  that  anybody  can  preach  the  Gospel 
unless  they  have  been  immersed,  and  I  tmderstand 
you  have  not  been. "  I  simply  told  him  that  I  was 
getting  all  I  wished  to  do  among  his  young  people 
and  in  the  other  chiirch.  Time  rolled  on,  and 
between  preaching  occasionally,  my  Bible  class, 
and  the  Baptist  Yoiing  People's  Society,  I  was  kept 
busy.  My  wife  occasionally  got  out  to  the  prayer 
meeting,  and  when  she  took  part  it  was  a  great 
surprise,  and  the  women  invited  her  to  their  mis- 
sionary meetings  and  other  special  occasions  and 
requested  her  to  lead  in  vocal  prayer. 

About  one  month  before  the  time  for  us  to  leave 
the  Methodist  minister  asked  me  how  I  would  like 
to  occupy  his  pulpit  the  next  Sunday  while  he  was 
away  at  his  other  appointment.  I  told  him  it  was 
just  what  I  had  been  wanting.     So  it  was  announced 


376  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

in  the  daily  papers  that  the  service  wotild  be  held 
by  a  Quaker  preacher.  The  house  was  packed 
morning  and  evening.  It  was  a  good  day,  and  it 
was  easy  preaching.  At  the  close  of  the  night 
service  the  wife  of  the  presiding  elder,  who  lived  at 
Evergreen,  came  to  me,  and  said:  "  Brother  Jay,  you 
made  a  mistake  to-night.  You  ought  to  have  called 
for  an  altar  service.  The  congregation  was  ready 
for  it. "  I  told  her  that  I  had  no  disposition  to  take 
advantage  of  the  pastor's  absence.  The  next  eve- 
ning the  minister  came  to  our  home,  and  laying  his 
cigar  down  on  the  porch  rail,  came  in  and  asked  me 
to  take  a  moonlight  walk  with  him.  He  said  that 
the  leaders  of  the  chiu'ch  felt  that  the  time  had 
come  to  hold  a  revival  service,  and  that  they 
believed  I  should  hold  it.  I  told  him  that  my  wife 
and  I  had  been  praying  for  the  way  to  open,  and 
that  I  was  ready.  I  wanted  him  to  take  charge  of 
the  singing  and  the  opening  prayer  service,  and  then 
I  would  take  charge  of  the  meeting  after  that.  He 
said,  "  Next  Wednesday  night,  being  prayer  meeting 
night,  we'll  begin. " 

It  was  thoroughly  advertised  in  the  daily  papers, 
and  handbills  were  posted  all  over  the  town,  so  that 
the  house  was  crowded  from  the  beginning.  The  day 
before  we  were  to  begin,  the  minister  came,  with  the 
Baptist  minister  with  him,  and  said  they  thought  it 
would  be  right  to  tell  me  a  little  about  the  condi- 
tions which  surrounded  the  church  in  that  place — 
that  I  must  be  careful  not  to  say  anything  against 
card  playing  or  dancing,  and  that  I  had  better  let 
the  theater  alone,  as  most  of  their  people  attended 
it.  My  reply  was,  "  We  will  try  and  let  the  Lord 
direct  the  preaching. "    The  meetings  went  on  eight 


ALABAMA  AND  FLORIDA  377 

or  ten  days,  when  one  night,  after  I  had  closed 
preaching,  I  stepped  down  to  the  altar  rail  and  said 
something  like  this,  "Now,  while  they  sing  another 
hymn,  if  there  is  anyone  in  the  house  who  wants 
to  give  his  heart  to  God  and  live  a  Christian  life, 
let  him  come  and  take  my  hand."  Scarcely  had 
the  hymn  been  begun  when  one  of  the  wealthiest, 
most  influential  young  ladies,  theater-going,  card- 
playing  and  a  leader  in  the  ball-room,  rose,  about 
half  way  back,  and  walking  up  the  aisle  with  her 
face  bathed  in  tears,  came  forward  and  grasped  my 
hand,  exclaiming,  "Pray  for  me,"  and  fell  on  her 
knees  at  the  altar.  Soon  the  altar  was  full,  with 
some  twenty  or  thirty  persons.  It  was  the  beginning 
of  a  wonderfid  revival.  The  whole  town  was  shaken. 
My  dear  wife  wrote  a  little  accoimt  of  the  work  to 
The  American  Friend,  which  was  published  in  that 
paper  Fifth  month  6,  1897,  and  is  as  follows: 

"Dear  Friend: — We  have  just  retiimed  to  our 
home  from  Evergreen,  Alabama,  and  I  believe  it 
will  be  right  to  tell  a  little  of  the  work  my  husband 
has  been  engaged  in  since  the  note  he  wrote  to  thee 
a  few  weeks  ago.  He  continued  to  teach  the  Bible 
class  on  First-day  morning,  which  increased  in 
niimbers.  He  was  called  upon  to  address  the 
Epworth  League  in  the  Methodist  chiu-ch,  and  the 
Sunbeam  Society  in  the  Baptist  church.  He  was 
also  called  upon  to  conduct  the  devotional  exercises 
in  the  academy,  which  has  over  300  students, 
besides  being  often  called  upon  to  tell  of  our  reli- 
gious views  in  private  circles.  On  First-day,  the 
4th  of  this  month,  the  Methodist  minister  went  to 
his  other  appointment,  and  my  husband  asked  the 
privilege  of  holding  meetings  that  day,  both  morning 


378   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

and  evening.  The  house  was  ftill.  On  Second-day, 
when  the  minister  returned,  his  official  members 
called  on  him  and  requested  that  a  series  of  meetings 
be  held  and  my  husband  be  invited  to  conduct  them. 
He  imited  with  the  proposition  and  began  at  once 
to  make  the  arrangements,  which  were  soon  made. 
It  was  what  we  had  been  praying  for,  and  the  meet- 
ing began  on  Fourth-day,  the  7th  of  Fourth  month, 
continuing  eighteen  days,  two  meetings  each  day, 
one  in  the  afternoon  and  one  at  night.  In  addition 
there  were  five  prayer  meetings  each  day,  at  the 
same  hour,  in  different  parts  of  the  town  in  private 
houses,  where  those  living  in  the  immediate  vicinity 
attended.  Many  were  reached  in  this  way  and 
thereby  induced  to  attend  the  meeting.  The  mer- 
chants and  other  business  men  closed  their  places  of 
business  during  the  last  week  and  came  with  their 
clerks  to  attend  the  services  both  afternoon  and 
evening. 

'The  meetings  have  been  occasions  of  great  bless- 
ing. The  house  has  been  full,  and  at  times  some 
went  away,  being  unable  to  get  in.  Generally  from 
fifty  to  one  hundred  came  forward,  seeking  salvation 
or  a  better  experience,  manifesting  much  brokenness 
of  spirit.  Many  of  these  were  members  of  some  one 
of  the  churches,  having  been  baptized  with  water, 
but  continuing  in  card-playing,  dancing,  theater- 
going and  other  worldly  amusements.  Many  con- 
fessed that  they  had  never  heard  the  Gospel  preached 
so  plainly  before.  They  had  not  thought  of  a  self- 
denying  life  as  so  essential  to  a  real  Christian  charac- 
ter. They  were  told  plainly  that  they  must  deny 
self,  take  up  the  cross  and  follow  Jesus  daily.  The 
baptism  of  the  Holy  Spirit   was  held   up   as   the 


ALABAMA  AND  FLORIDA  379 

only  saving  baptism.  The  doctrine  of  a  full  and 
free  salvation  was  proclaimed  without  reserve.  I 
think  I  never  heard  my  husband  more  favored  in 
proclaiming  the  Gospel.  The  prejudice  among  the 
churches  gave  way  and  they  all  joined  in,  many  who 
were  converted,  to  praise  the  Lord.  Even  the 
women's  voices  were  heard  in  prayer  and  praise  in 
public,  which  was  a  wonderful  revolution  among 
their  churches.  At  the  last  meeting  my  husband 
asked  all  who  would  promise  to  have  family  worship 
in  their  homes  to  come  forward  and  shake  hands 
with  him.  A  large  number  did  so,  with  tears  and 
solemn  promises.  The  meeting  was  closed  by  sing- 
ing, 'God  be  with  you  till  we  meet  again.'  The 
parting  was  in  much  love.  It  has  been  the  Lord's 
work.  To  Him  be  all  the  praise.  Sincerely  thy 
friend,  Martha  A.  Jay. " 

With  the  above  I  close  my  accotmt  of  the  winter 
spent  at  Evergreen.  The  newspapers  said  a  great 
deal  of  a  flattering  nature,  which  is  better  forgotten. 
The  Methodist  and  Baptist  ministers  each  wrote  a 
very  full  account  of  the  work  and  addressed  it  to 
otir  monthly  meeting,  but  it  was  so  full  of  flattery 
that  I  never  felt  like  presenting  it  to  the  meeting. 
I  do  not  remember  now  that  I  ever  showed  it  to  any 
of  my  friends.  It  is  enough  to  say  that  the  remem- 
brance of  those  days  brings  a  feeling  of  thankfulness. 
Many  came  to  the  train  to  see  us  off  the  night  we 
left. 

Winter  in  Florida 

My  wife  continuing  poorly,  we  felt  that  it  would 
be  right  to  spend  the  following  winter  where  the 
climate  wotild  be  mild  and  healthful.     After  some 


38o  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

inquiry,  and  having  some  friends  staying  in  Mel- 
bourne, Florida,  we  decided  to  go  there.  It  was  a 
pleasant  little  town,  located  on  the  banks  of  the 
Indian  River,  and  several  Northern  people  were  in 
the  place,  spending  their  winter  there  on  account  of 
its  pleasant  climate.  It  contained  several  churches. 
I  found  work  in  the  Bible  schools  of  the  Methodist 
and  Episcopal  churches,  and  was  frequently  invited 
to  preach  on  First-day  and  take  part  in  conventions 
and  Sunday-school  work.  It  was  interesting  to 
observe  the  simple  faith  of  those  Southern  people. 
While  I  do  not  know  that  Southern  people  as  a  class 
are  any  more  religious  than  people  in  the  more 
northern  portions  of  our  country,  yet  there  is  this 
difference:  Among  the  great  masses  of  the  people 
in  the  South  you  find  comparatively  few  who  express 
any  doubt  about  the  Bible  or  the  facts  it  contains. 
Even  those  who  pay  but  little  attention  to  living  a 
religious  life  will  acknowledge  the  facts  of  Chris- 
tianity as  taught  and  believed  by  the  various 
Churches.  They  may  rarely  go  to  church  or  Sun- 
day-school, yet  they  will  admit  it  is  the  right  thing 
to  do.  They  may  seldom  look  inside  their  Bibles, 
yet  they  hold  them  in  more  or  less  reverence  and 
would  not  think  of  disbelieving  the  doctrines  set 
forth  there  as  they  understand  them.  To  them  the 
Bible  is  a  sacred  book,  never  to  be  repudiated.  My 
experience  and  observation  has  led  me  to  believe 
that  it  is  easier  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  them  than 
it  is  to  preach  to  the  masses  in  our  Northern  States. 
While  this  is  the  case,  I  am  not  prepared  to  say 
that  the  moral  and  religious  life  of  the  people  is, 
on  the  average,  any  higher  than  that  of  the  same 
class  of  people  in  the  northern  and  western  sections 


ALABAMA  AND  FLORIDA  381 

of  our  country.  They  are  perhaps  more  emotional, 
and  will  accept  the  truths  of  the  Gospel  more 
quickly  and  make  a  profession  of  faith  more  easily, 
but  they  may  not  hold  out  as  long  as  those  who  have 
found  it  harder  to  get  rid  of  their  doubts. 

During  the  winter  I  made  a  few  excursions  with 
the  purpose  of  finding  a  few  scattered  Friends  who 
had  located  in  Florida.  Among  these  I  foxmd  one 
dear  Friend  whose  father  I  had  known  in  England. 
My  visit  at  his  home  was  one  that  I  shall  long 
remember.  He  did  what  he  could  to  get  up  a 
meeting  for  me  on  First-day  morning  among  the 
people  where  he  lived.     It  proved  a  favored  occasion. 

Bereavements 

We  spent  the  winter  very  comfortably,  going  out 
nearly  every  day  in  a  little  boat  on  the  water,  which 
proved  beneficial  to  my  wife.  Early  in  the  spring, 
however,  we  learned  of  the  declining  health  of  our 
son,  Dr.  William  C.  Jay,  who  lived  near  Oskaloosa, 
Iowa,  so  we  hastened  home,  and  I  went  to  help 
them  close  up  their  home  in  Iowa,  bringing  my  son, 
his  wife  and  their  son  to  our  house.  Soon  after- 
ward he  went  entirely  blind,  and  I  gave  my  time 
to  the  care  of  him  and  his  mother  until  First  month 
10,  1898,  when  his  Ufe  peacefully  closed.  My  wife 
gradually  grew  weaker  until  Fourth  month,  27,  1899, 
when  she  also  sweetly  passed  to  the  Beyond.  Her 
end  was  a  beautiful  example  of  how  a  Christian  may 
die.  Her  advice  and  cotmsel  to  me  during  her  clos- 
ing days  has  been  a  strength  and  has  enabled  me  to 
continue  the  work  that  I  have  found  to  do.  Thus 
passed  away  a  loving  and  devoted  wife  and  mother. 
We  had  walked  together  over  forty-four  years.     She 


382   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

never  hesitated  to  give  me  up  when  I  felt  called  to 
leave  home  to  preach  the  Gospel  or  labor  in  religious 
work  of  any  kind.  Indeed  I  have  often  felt  that 
her  sacrifice  was  greater  than  mine,  and  that  she 
was  the  one  who  should  receive  the  greater  reward.. 
It  may  be  sometimes  that  in  expressing  our  sym- 
pathy and  giving  encouragement  to  the  minister, 
the  faithful  wife  at  home  with  the  children  is  for- 
gotten by  the  church  and  its  membership. 

It  was  a  lonely  day  when  she  left  me.  I  felt 
indeed  that  the  light  of  the  home  had  gone  out. 
None  but  those  who  have  gone  through  it  know 
what  it  is.  I  have  tried,  in  a  measure  at  least,  to 
remember  her  advice,  given  the  day  before  she  died, 
when  she  said  to  me:  "Now,  when  I  am  gone,  don't 
sit  down  and  mourn,  but  rise  up  and  go  to  work  and 
finish  the  service  the  Lord  has  for  thee  to  do,  and 
when  it  is  done,  come  home  and  we  will  be  together." 
She  then  told  me  some  of  the  important  things 
that  it  would  be  right  for  me  to  do,  such  as  paying 
another  visit  to  London  and  Dublin  Yearly  Meet- 
ings, helping  to  get  Earlham  and  Guilford  Colleges 
out  of  debt,  and  some  other  labor.  She  certainly 
had  a  prophetic  vision  of  what  lay  before  me.  I 
pray  it  may  all  be  completed  when  the  end  comes. 

Visits  to  Baltimore^  Meiu  York  and  New  England 
Yearly  Meetings 

During  the  next  year  I  felt  it  right  to  attend  to 
some  religious  service  in  Baltimore,  New  York  and 
New  England  Yearly  Meetings.  During  this  jour- 
ney I  spent  several  days  in  the  city  of  Washington, 
D.  C,  laboring  among  the  Friends  in  that  city  and 
making  my  home  with  my  dear  friend,   Robert 


ALABAMA  AND  FLORIDA  383 

Warder  and  his  wife.  While  in  New  England  I  went 
across  to  Nantucket  Island  and  spent  several  days 
resting  and  looking  over  some  of  the  old  records  to 
be  found  among  those  of  the  Historical  Society  on 
that  island.  My  grandmother  having  been  a  Macy, 
and  her  father  having  come  from  that  island,  I  felt 
more  than  an  ordinary  interest.  Seeing  the  name  of 
Macy  over  a  grocery  store,  I  stepped  in  and  told 
the  owner  that  my  great-grandfather  Macy  came 
from  that  island.  He  simply  exclaimed:  "You 
have  500  cousins  here."  I  visited  the  old  meeting- 
house, where  once  there  was  a  large  meeting  of 
Friends.  It  is  said  that  at  one  time  there  were  more 
than  2,000  Friends  on  the  island,  but  they  are  gone 
now,  and  there  are  only  a  few  left.  Those  remain- 
ing belong  to  what  they  call  the  Wilburite  party. 
I  am  not  sure  that  there  is  any  meeting  held  on  the 
island  any  more.  It  is  a  sad  commentary  on  the 
vitality  of  Quakerism.  We  must  believe  that  it  is 
through  no  fault  of  the  principles  of  Quakerism,  but 
it  is  the  fault  of  those  who  fail  to  present  its  living 
principles  to  the  world  around  them.  How  much 
the  separation  had  to  do  with  pulling  down  Quaker- 
ism on  that  island  and  in  many  other  places  we 
may  never  know,  but  I  believe  that  division  and 
separation  cannot  remedy  an  evil,  but  always  result 
in  weakness  and  distraction  to  the  Church.  While 
there  I  visited  many  interesting  places.  Among 
these  was  the  home  of  William  Mitchel,  the  father 
of  Maria  Mitchel,  the  astronomer,  who  won  dis- 
tinction and  received  a  medal  for  her  discovery  in 
astronomy.  I  enjoyed  going  up  on  top  of  the  house 
where  she  used  her  telescope. 

From  Nantucket  Island  I  went  to  Amesbury 


384  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

and  talked  with  my  dear  friends,  Daniel  Maxfield 
and  wife.  The  former  was  connected  with  Provi- 
dence Boarding-school  while  we  lived  there.  I 
visited  the  scenes  of  Whittier's  early  life  and  his 
home  in  Amesbiiry,  which  is  now  preserved  by  the 
Whittier  Society  and  kept  open  for  visitors,  so  they 
can  see  the  home  as  he  left  it  and  many  relics  which 
were  dear  to  him.  In  visiting  his  grave  I  had  an 
opportunity  of  witnessing  evidences  of  the  esteem 
in  which  his  memory  was  held  by  many  who  came 
to  look  upon  his  last  resting  place.  At  the  head  of 
the  grave  the  hedge  which  surrounds  the  lot  had 
been  cut  away  by  people  who  had  cut  off  portions 
to  carry  home  as  mementos.  Our  English  Friends 
have  all  along  appreciated  his  writings  more  than 
Friends  in  America.  I  see  that  the  Yorkshire  1905 
Committee,  in  the  belief  that  Friends  have  not  yet 
done  what  they  might  in  making  widely  known  the 
"magnificent  spiritual  legacy  left  us  by  Whittier," 
have  prepared  a  selection  of  his  poems  for  free 
distribution.  It  was  interesting  ^to  visit  the  home 
of  Thomas  Macy,  whose  house  has  been  placed  under 
the  care  of  the  Society  and  turned  into  a  museum 
where  are  kept  many  interesting  mementos  of  the 
earlier  days  of  Amesbury  and  the  sturoimding 
country.  Thomas  Macy  was  persecuted  for  har- 
boring the  Quakers.  I  have  seen  it  stated  that 
perhaps  Marmaduke  Stevenson  and  William  Rob- 
inson stayed  over  night  in  his  home  a  short  time 
before  they  were  hung  in  Boston.  He  took  his 
family  in  a  boat  and  went  down  the  stream  into  the 
ocean  and  crossed  over  to  Nantucket  Island,  and 
some  accounts  say  that  they  were  the  first  white 
people  who  ever  settled  there. 


ALABAMA  AND  FLORIDA  385 

After  spending  most  of  the  summer  in  visiting 
many  of  the  Friends  and  meetings  in  these  yearly- 
meetings,  I  returned  home  in  time  for  our  yearly 
meeting. 


as 


Chapter  XLIV 

MARRIAGE  AND  VISIT  TO  ENGLAND 
AND  IRELAND 

As  the  year  1900  was  advancing,  the  subject  of 
another  religious  visit  to  London  and  DubHn  Yearly 
Meetings  came  up  with  such  freshness  as  led  me  to 
believe  that  it  woiild  be  right  for  me  to  lay  the 
matter  before  my  friends.     So  in  the  Eighth  month 
of  that  year  I  presented  it  to  our  monthly  meeting, 
and  to  the  quarterly  meeting  on  Ninth  month  i, 
both  of  which  meetings  gave  their  imity  and  en- 
couragement.    I   then   began   shaping   matters   in 
order  to  be  ready.     While  waiting  for  the  yearly 
meeting  of  mnistry  and  oversight  to  occur,  before 
which  it  was  necessary  to  lay  this  concern  in  order 
to  receive  its  final   endorsement,    I   was  busy  in 
perfecting  these  arrangements.     About  two  weeks 
before  the  yearly  meeting,   without  any  previous 
thought  on  the  matter,   my  mind  was  impressed 
that  it  would  be  right  to  ask  Naomi  W.  Harrison  to 
become  my  wife  and  that  she  should  go  with  me. 
It  was  so  unexpected  that  I  hesitated  two  or  three 
days  before  acting,  but  when  I  did  mention  the 
subject  to  her  it  was  pleasant  to  know  that  her 
mind  had  been  directed  in  the  same  channel,  so  that 
the    matter    was    soon    arranged.     We    were  well 
acquainted,   our  homes  being  close  together,   and 
having  been  associated  in  church  and  college  work 
or  a  number  of  years.     She  had  been  at  the  clerk's 

(386) 


NAOMI  H.  JAY. 


SECOND  TRIP  TO  EUROPE  387 

table  of  Indiana  Yearly  Meeting  for  twenty-six 
years,  half  that  time  as  assistant  and  the  other  half 
as  the  clerk.  When  we  informed  our  friends  during 
the  yearly  meeting,  we  found  much  encouragement 
from  the  Friends  in  different  parts  of  the  yearly 
meeting.  We  were  married  according  to  the  good 
order  of  Friends,  Eleventh  month  25,  1900.  The 
yearly  meeting  having  endorsed  my  concern  to  visit 
Friends  in  London  and  Dublin  Yearly  Meetings,  we 
proceeded  to  make  arrangements  for  the  journey, 
my  wife  having  obtained  a  minute  from  the  monthly 
meeting  to  unite  with  me  in  the  service.  We  sailed 
from  New  York,  Second  month  2,  1901,  my  wife's 
youngest  daughter,  Miriam  A.  Harrison,  who  lived 
with  us,  going  along.  The  monthly  meeting  en- 
dorsed her  going  and  gave  her  a  minute  liberating 
her  and  encouraging  her  to  be  faithful  to  perform 
such  work  as  she  might  find  to  do.  We  had  rather  a 
rough  voyage,  yet  did  not  suffer  much  inconvenience 
from  seasickness,  my  wife  going  to  every  meal. 

Upon  arriving  in  Liverpool,  we  went  directly  to 
the  home  of  Dr.  Thorpe  where  we  received  a  cordial 
welcome.  The  next  day  we  went  to  Leominster, 
where  we  made  our  home  with  our  dear  friend, 
Henry  Stanley  Newman,  at  Buckfield,  to  rest  for  a  few 
days  before  starting  upon  oiu*  work.  It  was  a  real 
pleasure  to  be  with  our  dear  friend  in  his  own  home 
and  to  talk  over  the  days  spent  together  in  America. 

Our  English  Friends  have  what  they  call  an 
American  Committee,  composed  of  persons  who 
are  set  apart  to  kindly  look  after  American  ministers 
who  are  traveling  with  minutes  for  religious  service 
in  their  coimtry,  to  counsel  and  advise  them,  help 
them  in  preparing  their  program  and  give  all  neces- 


388    AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

sary  assistance  in  carrying  out  their  concern.  It 
was  thought  best  that  I  should  go  up  to  London 
and  meet  with  this  committee  before  entering  upon 
the  field  of  labor  which  lay  before  us,  which  I  did 
upon  the  following  day.  We  had  a  very  satisfactory 
conference.  They  were  exceedingly  kind  and  did 
all  they  could  to  help  make  the  necessary  arrange- 
ments. Having  had  a  map  of  the  meetings  in 
London  Yearly  Meeting,  together  with  the  Book  of 
Meetings,  I  made  out  a  tentative  program  before 
leaving  home  which,  at  their  request,  I  laid  before 
them  and  which,  with  a  few  slight  alterations,  they 
fully  endorsed.  I  returned  to  Leominster  the 
following  day. 

After  a  few  days  we  attended  a  quarterly  meet- 
ing in  Wales  and  went  to  Doncaster,  Sheffield,  Man- 
chester, and  from  there  crossed  over  to  Ireland,  and 
went  almost  directly  to  the  limits  of  Ulster  Quarterly 
Meeting  in  the  north  of  Ireland,  stopping  first  with 
our  dear  friend,  Anna  Pym,  at  Lisbon.  We  then 
proceeded  to  visit  all  the  meetings  belonging  to  that 
quarter,  also  the  schools  Having  visited  the 
meetings  in  the  north  of  Ireland,  we  then  went  to 
Leinster  Quarterly  Meeting  in  the  south  of  Ireland, 
going  almost  directly  to  Cork  and  making  our  home 
in  that  city  with  Benjamin  Haughton.  I  had  made 
my  home  with  his  father,  Benjamin  Haughton,  Sr., 
twenty-six  years  before.  We  visited  the  meetings 
and  schools  within  the  limits  of  that  quarterly 
meeting,  after  which  we  spent  three  days  visiting  the 
Lakes  of  Killamey  and  their  surroimdings.  Then 
going  into  Mtmster  Quarterly  Meeting,  we  visited 
the  meetings  and  schools  of  that  quarter  before  the 
time  of  the  yearly  meeting.     It  would  be  pleasant 


SECOND  TRIP  TO  EUROPE  389 

to  trace  our  journey  from  meeting  to  meeting 
throughout  Ireland  and  to  dwell  upon  the  many- 
kind  homes  where  we  were  made  welcome,  but  this 
is  not  the  purpose  of  this  autobiography.  It  is  only 
my  purpose  to  speak  in  a  general  way  and  perhaps 
to  allude  to  a  few  facts  more  prominent  than  others 
in  the  work.  First  among  these  and  one  which 
brings  peace  when  dwelt  upon  was  the  universal 
kindness  and  Christian  love  which  we  met  with 
throughout  our  entire  stay  in  Ireland.  We  visited, 
as  far  as  I  can  remember,  all  the  meetings  of  Friends 
with  possibly  one  exception.  Some  of  them  were 
very  small,  but  these  small  meetings  were  specially 
upon  our  minds,  and  our  visits  to  them  were  occa- 
sions of  blessing  to  us,  and  I  trust  the  dear  Friends 
visited  were  strengthened  by  our  calling  upon  them. 
One  of  these  meetings  had  only  three  members.  We 
also  visited  all  the  schools  imder  the  care  of  the 
Friends,  this  being  an  interesting  portion  of  our 
labors. 

The  yearly  meeting  was  a  time  of  enjoyment.  It 
was  felt  to  be  a  favored  occasion  in  which  the  Chiu"ch 
was  strengthened  and  encouraged.  I  missed  some 
who  were  active  leaders  twenty-six  years  before, 
when  I  first  attended  that  yearly  meeting,  but  it 
was  a  great  pleasure  to  receive  the  warm  welcome 
of  others.  Prominent  among  these  was  our  dear 
friend,  Adam  Wood,  who  was  still  active.  We 
made  our  home  with  him  and  his  dear  daughters  at 
their  lovely  home  at  Dundrum,  his  precious  wife 
having  passed  on  since  I  had  been  there  before. 
There  were  others  who  were  still  in  the  foremost 
ranks.  It  was  especially  gratifying  to  see  among 
the  yoimger   ones  numbers  coming   forward   and 


390    AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

filling  up  the  places  of  those  who  had  fallen  out  of 
the  Church  militant. 

After  the  close  of  the  yearly  meeting  we  crossed 
over  to  Holyhead  and  so  on  to  London,  where  we 
went  to  the  home  of  our  dear  friend,  Joseph  Bevan 
Braithwaite,  and  once  more  found  a  pleasant  resting 
place  during  our  stay  in  London.  During  the  few 
days  before  the  yearly  meeting  commenced  we 
visited  a  few  of  the  meetings  in  and  around  the  city. 
According  to  previous  arrangement,  I  attended  the 
Young  Friends  meeting  at  Stoke  Newington  and 
addressed  them  on  the  subject  which  they  had 
selected  for  me,  "The  Demand  of  the  Hour  Upon 
the  Young."  On  Fifth  month  22  the  yearly 
meeting  opened  with  John  Morland  as  clerk,  and 
Mary  Jane  Godlee,  clerk  of  the  women's  meeting. 
Here,  again,  I  found  changes  had  taken  place  in 
the  last  twenty-six  years.  To  me  London  Yearly 
Meeting  has  always  been  an  interesting  occasion 
whenever  I  have  iDcen  present,  and  I  think  never 
more  so  than  on  this  occasion.  .1  coiild  say  much 
regarding  the  kindness  of  the  dear  Friends  and  the 
work  of  the  yearly  meeting,  but  London  Yearly 
Meeting  has  been  so  often  described  by  American 
visitors  and  in  the  English  papers  that  I  do  not  feel 
that  it  is  necessary  to  dwell  much  upon  it,  only  to 
say  that  it  was  the  same  strong,  deliberative  body 
that  it  had  been  and  active  in  practical  Christian 
work.  Many  of  the  younger  members  were  coming 
forward  and  taking  an  active  interest  in  the  affairs 
of  the  Church.  As  a  yearly  meeting  they  were  seek- 
ing to  know  the  mind  of  Christ  in  the  work  that  they 
were  called  to  do ;  upon  the  whole,  a  very  satisfactory 
yearly  meeting,  growing  stronger  and  reaching  out 


SECOND  TRIP  TO  EUROPE  391 

to  build  up  the  waste  places,  which  it  has  continued 
to  do  until  the  present  time,  the  last  report  showing 
a  steady  growth  until  they  have  reached  a  member- 
ship now  of  a  little  over  nineteen  thousand. 

After  the  close  of  the  yearly  meeting  we  were 
engaged  very  busily  attending  the  greater  number  of 
the  meetings  in  the  north  of  England  and  in  the 
Midland  Counties.  Here,  again,  I  might  find  much 
of  a  pleasing  nature  to  dwell  upon,  especially  in  our 
visits  to  Darlington,  Kendal,  Swarthmore  and 
Birmingham.  Particularly  at  Birmingham  we  were 
deeply  interested  in  the  adult  school  work  and  other 
Christian  work  carried  on  by  the  dear  Friends  there. 
We  were  thankful  to  have  the  privilege  of  attending 
the  annual  meeting  of  the  adult  school  workers, 
who  had  been  organized  into  a  society,  and  enjoyed 
taking  tea  with  them.  We  visited  George  Cadbury, 
who  has  since  turned  his  old  home  into  the  center 
for  the  Woodbrooke  movement. 

Perhaps  it  will  not  be  out  of  place  to  add  that  our 
daughter,  Miriam  A.  Harrison,  found  a  place  for 
service  with  us,  especially  among  the  yoimger  mem- 
bers of  the  Church,  and  she  was  requested  to  attend 
and  take  part  in  the  young  people's  societies  and  the 
adult  schools.  Her  singing  opened  a  door  for  her  in 
many  places  among  that  class. 

Before  closing  the  account  of  this  visit  I  feel  like 
alluding  to  a  day  spent  with  o\ir  dear  friend,  John 
Wilhelm  Rowntree,  who  had  previously  been  at  our 
home  in  America  for  several  days  and  who  requested 
me  to  come  to  his  home  before  leaving  England, 
which  I  did.  Upon  arriving  there,  early  in  the 
morning,  I  found  him  ready  with  his  lunch  basket 
and  we  soon  reached  Robin  Hood  Bay,     There,  on 


392    AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

a  cliff  overlooking  the  water,  we  sat  down  and 
talked  over  the  condition  of  the  Society  of  Friends 
in  England,  Ireland  and  America.  Indeed,  we  first 
reviewed  the  condition  of  each  yeariy  meeting  sepa- 
rately, both  in  his  country  and  ours.  Then  we 
dwelt  upon  the  prospect  of  the  Church's  future 
prosperity  and  the  things  to  be  overcome.  In  doing 
this  we  freely  discussed  the  men  and  women  who 
were  the  leaders  in  the  onward  movement  and  those 
who  bade  fair  to  take  a  leading  part  in  coming 
years.  This  was  no  idle  conversation.  It  was 
opened  by  prayer  and  the  yearly  meetings  and 
individuals  were  discussed  with  a  desire  to  know 
what  the  future  would  bring  forth.  This  conversa- 
tion was  not  for  the  public.  It  has  never  been  made 
known  to  the  public.  This  dear  man,  with  a 
prophetic  vision,  was  trying  to  penetrate  the  future 
of  our  Society.  He  saw  more  than  many  others. 
He  saw  some  of  the  things  that  are  beginning  to 
transpire  and  which  the  future  may  more  fully 
demonstrate.  He  labored,  but  others  have  entered 
into  his  labors. 

We  closed  our  work,  and  left  for  home  the  first 
week  in  Eighth  month,  landing  at  Boston,  and 
after  spending  a  few  days  there  we  returned  home. 


Chapter  XLV 

HELPING    GUILFORD,    EARLHAM   AND 
WHITTIER  COLLEGES 

After  returning  from  our  visit  with  the  Friends 
of  London  and  Dublin  Yearly  Meetings,  we  settled 
down  in  the  home  at  Earlham  View,  located  in 
front  of  Earlham  College,  and  found  work  to  occupy 
our  time  in  the  Church  and  in  connection  with  the 
college.  We  attended  North  Carolina  Yearly  Meet- 
ing in  1902,  and  Baltimore  and  North  Carolina 
Yearly  Meetings  in  1903.  I  attended  New  York 
Yearly  Meeting  at  Glen  Falls  in  the  spring  of  1904 
and  some  of  the  meetings  belonging  to  it.  One  day 
in  the  winter  of  1904  I  received  a  letter  from  our 
dear  friend,  Elihu  E.  Mendenhall,  of  Deep  River, 
North  Carolina,  who  had  long  been  president  of 
the  board  of  trustees  of  Guilford  College,  and  one 
who  had  given  of  his  time  and  means  for  the  good 
of  that  institution.  Near  the  close  he  wrote,  "Allen, 
I  had  hoped  to  see  Guilford  College  out  of  debt 
before  I  died,  but  I  never  shall  unless  thee  comes 
down  and  helps  us. ' '  Turning  to  my  wife  and 
daughter,  I  asked,  "  How  soon  can  you  get  ready  to 
go  to  North  Carolina  and  spend  the  winter.'"'  The 
reply  was,  "  In  a  few  days. "  I  then  said,  "  We  will 
start  next  Fourth-day."  Turning  to  the  desk,  I 
wrote  Elwood  Cox,  who  had  been  appointed  presi- 
dent of  the  board  in  the  place  of  Elihu  Mendenhall, 
who  resigned  on  accoimt  of  old  age,  and  asked  him 
to  call  a  meeting  of  the  trustees  at  the  college  on 

(393) 


394     AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

Sixth-day  of  the  next  week.  At  the  time  set  we 
closed  up  our  home  for  the  winter  and  started, 
reaching  the  college  the  night  before  the  meeting. 

With  the  treasurer  we  went  over  the  books,  and 
found  that  the  debt  amoimted  to  nearly  $28,000. 
This  was  chiefly  an  old  debt  which,  with  the  interest, 
had  been  growing  from  year  to  year.  The  trustees 
were  all  present.  The  whole  matter  was  gone  over, 
which  resulted  in  the  afternoon  in  my  making  the 
following  proposition:  That  I  would  undertake  to 
raise  the  amount  if  they  would  help,  and  if  one- 
fourth  of  the  amoiuit  could  be  secured  in  the  limits 
of  North  Carolina  Yearly  Meeting  before  going  out- 
side to  solicit.  The  members  of  the  board  showed 
their  interest  by  subscribing  $4,000  before  we  left 
the  room.  The  next  day  President  L.  L.  Hobbs  and 
I  started  out,  and  within  ten  days  we  had  secured 
subscriptions  amounting  to  one-fourth  of  the  debt. 
My  wife  had  a  room  at  the  college  and  was  to  look 
after  my  correspondence,  and  I  started  for  Philadel- 
phia, hoping  to  get  the  remainder  of  the  amount  in 
and  around  that  city  and  Baltimore.  Then  began 
one  of  the  most  strenuous  efforts  in  soliciting  funds 
that  I  ever  experienced.  Soon  after  arriving,  the 
weather  ttimed  cold,  and  for  several  days  there  was 
a  blizzard,  so  that  one  night,  after  walking  a  good 
deal  during  the  day,  I  had  to  walk  to  my  home, 
which  was  with  my  dear  friend,  Asa  Wing,  when 
in  the  city.  Another  thing  that  made  it  hard  was 
the  fact  that  it  was  a  debt.  Many  felt  that  they 
should  not  have  gone  into  debt,  so  that  I  met  with 
rebuffs  on  that  account.  Others  felt  that  they 
would  not  subscribe  unless  the  whole  amoimt  shotild 
be  raised.     On  the  other  hand,  many  dear  Friends 


HELPING  COLLEGES  395 

lent  a  helping  hand.  President  Isaac  Sharpless, 
Joshua  L,  Baily,  Thomas  Scattergood,  Asa  Wing 
and  others  encouraged  me  to  hold  on.  So,  for 
nearly  four  weeks,  in  and  around  Philadelphia,  I 
went  into  homes,  offices  and  places  of  business, 
meeting  with  success  sometimes  and  failure  at 
others.  Having  done  what  I  felt  I  could  at  that 
time  in  Philadelphia,  I  turned  towards  Baltimore, 
where  I  had  reason  to  expect  some  good  subscrip- 
tions. Here  again  things  looked  discouraging,  for 
on  First-day  before  my  arrival  in  the  city  the  great 
fire  of  1904  took  place,  so  that  much  of  the  city  was 
in  ruins.  However,  I  stopped  over,  and  going  into 
the  home  of  Francis  White,  he  said,  without  any 
solicitation  on  my  part,  "I  will  give  $2,500,  even  if 
I  have  lost  heavily  by  the  fire. " 

Returning  to  Guilford  and  reporting  the  results 
to  the  trustees,  we  found,  when  all  was  counted  up, 
that  there  was  $4,000  still  lacking.  They  desired 
that  I  should  return  at  once  to  the  East  and  try  to 
secure  that,  but  I  told  them  I  would  try  another 
plan  first.  Securing  a  room,  I  put  in  two  days 
writing  letters  to  my  friends  in  different  parts  of 
the  United  States,  believing  the  amount  would  be 
forthcoming. 

Having  a  minute  for  religious  service,  I  had 
arranged  for  a  month's  work  among  the  meetings  of 
Deep  River,  Southern,  Western  and  Yadkin  Valley 
Quarterly  Meetings,  our  daughter  Miriam  going 
with  me,  and  her  mother  caring  for  the  correspond- 
ence. It  was  indeed  pleasant  to  visit  the  meetings 
and  homes  of  the  dear  Friends  I  had  so  often  labored 
among  thirty  years  before  when  a  member  of  that 
yearly  meeting. 


396  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

When  we  returned  it  was  a  great  joy  to  find  the 
officers  and  managers  of  Guilford  rejoicing  because 
the  debt  was  all  subscribed,  a  telegram  having  come 
that  morning  from  Samuel  Hill,  of  Seattle,  saying, 
"I'll  pay  the  last  $  1,000,"  which  closed  the  long- 
drawn-out  effort.  It  was  a  glad  day  for  Guilford. 
She  put  on  new  life  and  has  been  growing  ever  since, 
and  is  doing  a  great  work. 

Buildings  and  Endowment  for  Earlham  and  Whittier 

For  a  long  time  the  trustees  of  Earlham  had 
talked  of  making  an  application  to  Andrew  Carnegie 
for  money  to  build  a  library  at  Earlham.  Early 
in  the  year  1905,  at  a  conference  with  the  local 
trustees,  I  was  requested  to  go  East  and  make  the 
effort.  After  studying  the  matter  over  I  concluded 
to  go  to  Washington  and  see  if  I  could  secure  any 
help. 

Knowing  that  Joseph  G.  Cannon,  the  Speaker  of 
the  House  of  Representatives,  was  personally  ac- 
quainted with  Andrew  Carnegie,,  and  that  when  a 
young  man  he  was  a  student  at  Earlham,  and  being 
myself  also  personally  acquainted  with  him,  upon 
my  arrival  in  the  city  of  Washington  I  went  to  the 
Speaker's  room.  We  were  soon  engaged  in  talking 
the  matter  over.  At  first  he  did  not  think  we  would 
succeed,  but  after  talking  for  a  while  he  suggested 
that  I  write  out  an  application  and  come  back  the 
next  morning.  Going  to  the  hotel,  I  spent  most  of 
the  night  preparing  the  application  and  having  three 
or  four  typewritten  copies  put  in  shape.  Next 
morning  at  the  appointed  hour  I  met  him  in  his 
room.  He  took  the  paper  and  read  it  over  carefully, 
then  assuming  his  familiar  attitude,  with  his  feet 


HELPING  COLLEGES  397 

on  the  desk  and  a  cigar  in  his  mouth,  he  dictated  a 
very  satisfactory  letter  which,  as  soon  as  his  secre- 
tary had  put  it  into  shape,  he  handed  to  me,  advis- 
ing me  to  see  the  Senators  from  Indiana.  Having 
met  them  before,  I  was  glad  to  do  so.  They  came 
out  of  the  Senate,  and  were  willing  to  do  what  they 
could,  telling  me  to  call  in  the  afternoon  and  receive 
what  they  had  written.  Then,  going  to  Vice-Presi- 
dent Fairbanks'  room  and  finding  him  in,  he  soon 
had  a  short  but  full  commendation  ready  for  me. 
After  receiving  Senator  Beveridge's  and  Senator 
Hemenway's  letters,  I  returned  to  the  House  of 
Representatives  and  found  James  E.  Watson,  our 
Representative,  and  also  Joseph  Dixon,  who  had 
taken  a  post-graduate  coiu^se  at  EarUiam.  Indeed 
I  had  known  him  from  a  child  in  North  Carolina. 
He  is  now  United  States  Senator  from  Montana. 
They  both  added  their  endorsement  in  letters. 
Armed  with  all  these  letters  of  commendation,  I  went 
to  the  post-office  in  the  building  and  mailed  them, 
together  with  the  application,  to  Carnegie.  Next 
day  I  went  to  New  York  to  see  another  party,  who 
gave  $1,000,  and  then  I  came  home. 

A  Gift  from  Andrew  Carnegie 

Upon  reaching  home,  the  blank  applications 
from  Carnegie  were  there  ready  to  be  filled  out.  Presi- 
dent Kelly  and  I  answered  the  required  questions. 
We  asked  for  the  sum  of  $40,000.  In  a  few  days 
we  received  word  that  Andrew  Carnegie  would  be 
pleased  to  give  us  the  sum  of  $30,000  to  erect  a 
library  building  on  condition  that  we  would  raise 
a  like  sum,  the  interest  of  which  was  to  be  used  in 
the    upkeep    of    the    library.     He    also    told    us 


398  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

where  to  draw  on  him  for  the  amount.  This  was 
good  news,  but  at  the  same  time  it  gave  us  a  serious 
problem  to  solve — that  of  raising  $30,000  to  endow 
the  library  with.  It  was  a  time  of  financial  de- 
pression, and,  besides,  we  had  other  financial 
matters  upon  our  hands.  We  waited  that  summer, 
and  took  no  active  steps  until  the  next  winter. 
During  the  winter  and  spring  of  1906  I  secured  the 
simi  of  about  $20,000  for  the  library,  and  the  stmi 
of  $25,000  for  the  Edwin  Bundy  dormitory  building. 

Then  feeling  tired  and  somewhat  worn,  I  decided 
to  go  to  California  and  try  to  find  a  little  rest,  having 
made  such  arrangements  as  I  thought  would  succeed 
in  raising  the  remaining  $10,000.  My  wife  and  I 
obtained  a  minute  liberating  us  to  attend  California 
and  Oregon  Yearly  Meetings  and  the  meetings 
composing  them  so  far  as  the  way  might  open,  and 
to  visit  the  Friends  in  the  State  of  Washington, 
especially  those  who  belonged  to  Indiana  Yearly 
Meeting.  We  also  had  a  minute  from  the  evan- 
gelistic, pastoral  and  church  extension  board  of 
Indiana  Yearly  Meeting,  requesting  us  to  attend 
a  conference  of  Friends  in  the  State  of  Washington, 
to  be  held  by  those  belonging  to  Indiana  Yearly 
Meeting.  Two  or  three  years  before,  Charles 
Replogle  and  wife  had  gone  to  Everett,  in  that 
State,  from  Muncie  Monthly  Meeting.  Their  work 
had  been  greatly  blessed,  and  they  had  sent  a 
nimiber  of  names  to  their  monthly  meeting  of 
persons  who  desired  to  become  members  of  the 
Society  of  Friends.  Two  or  three  meetings  had 
been  established,  and  Friends  in  yet  other  places 
were  holding  meetings. 

My  rest  was  not  to  be  realized,  for   when   we 


HELPING  COLLEGES  399 

reached  Whittier  we  found  that  the  trustees  of  the 
college  had  appointed  a  meeting  for  that  night  at 
the  home  of  our  son-in-law  to  see  if  they  co\ild  not 
get  me  to  assist  Rayner  Kelsey  in  raising  $100,000 
to  add  to  the  endowment  fund  of  that  institution. 
Before  retiring  that  night,  I  had  agreed  to  assist  in 
the  effort.  After  a  few  days  we  went  to  Imperial 
City,  in  the  Imperial  Valley,  where  our  son-in-law, 
Stephen  Stanton  Myrick,  and  his  wife  lived,  he  being 
the  pastor  of  the  Methodist  church  in  that  place. 
They  had  a  child  bom  twenty-four  hours  before  we 
reached  there,  whom  they  named  Stephen  Stanton 
Myrick,  Jr.  I  remained  there  two  weeks.  Ten 
days  of  that  time  I  was  engaged  in  assisting  my 
son-in-law  in  holding  a  series  of  meetings  in  the 
church.  Several  were  converted,  and  a  few  joined 
the  church.  He  has  since  joined  Friends  and  is 
now  pastor  of  Friends  meeting,  Greensboro,  N.  C. 

I  then  returned  to  Whittier,  and  was  engaged  in 
soliciting  funds  for  about  two  weeks,  when,  to  my 
surprise,  I  received  a  letter  from  the  president  of 
Earlham,  saying  that  it  looked  as  though  they  would 
fail  to  secure  the  $10,000  to  make  up  the  neces- 
sary amount  for  the  library,  and  as  what  had  been 
subscribed  was  on  condition  that  the  remainder  be 
secured,  it  was  the  judgment  of  the  board  of  trus- 
tees that  I  ought  to  return.  After  a  few  hours' 
thought  I  filled  my  valise  and  started  back  across 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  stopping  a  few  days  in  San 
Josd,  San  Francisco  and  Berkeley  to  secure  what 
I  could  for  Whittier,  leaving  San  Francisco  about  a 
week  before  the  great  earthquake  and  fire  which 
shook  the  whole  country  with  sorrow. 

Reaching  home,  I  commenced  to  work  where  I 


400  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

had  left  off.  While  asking  for  the  library,  I  found 
that  our  dear  friends,  Zenas  and  Rachel  Bundy, 
wished  to  give  the  $25,000  already  mentioned  for 
a  dormitory  building  for  boys  on  condition  that  we 
secure  $25,000  more  and  erect  a  $50,000  building. 
Here  was  another  sum  to  be  raised.  In  prosecuting 
the  work  I  went  to  Philadelphia,  where  I  had  been 
so  often  on  a  similar  mission.  Here  again  another 
subject  came  to  the  front.  A  dear  friend,  Joseph 
Elkinton,  had  lately  died  and  left  a  large  number  of 
Friends  books  and  manuscripts.  After  consulting 
with  the  agent  and  with  one  or  two  of  the  heirs, 
they  agreed  that  we  might  have  these  for  $1,500, 
because  we  proposed  to  keep  them  together  at  Earl- 
ham.  I  went  to  work  to  sectu^e  money  to  pay  for 
the  library,  and  secured  all  but  about  $400,  which 
I  thought  I  had  the  promise  of,  but  it  failed,  and 
our  librarian.  Professor  Harlow  Lindley,  afterwards 
went  out  and  obtained  that  amoimt  and  had  the 
books  shipped,  so  that  they  are  now  in  the  library. 
These,  with  the  books  we  already  had  gave  Earlham 
a  fine  collection  of  Friends  books  and  writings.  Hav- 
ing spent  what  time  I  thought  best,  I  returned  to 
Indiana  and  continued  the  work  in  the  two  yearly 
meetings  of  Indiana  and  Western,  taking  subscrip- 
tions both  for  the  library  and  dormitory,  but  most 
anxious  for  the  former.  I  soon  had  a  little  over 
the  required  amount  of  $30,000,  and  having  made 
the  library  fund  safe,  I  retiuned  to  California, 
where  I  rode  through  the  coiuitry  and  visited  Friends 
at  Pasadena,  Los  Angeles,  Long  Beach  and  other 
points.     It  was  slow  and  arduous  work. 


HELPING  COLLEGES  401 

Raising  $50,000  in  One  Meeting 

Yearly  meeting  came  on,  and  we  were  still  some 
$50,000  behind.  An  educational  meeting  was  held 
one  night,  much  interest  created,  and  a  sufficient 
amotmt  was  promised  to  reduce  the  required  sum 
down  to  about  $30,000.  When  the  final  report  of 
the  college  came  before  the  meeting  we  were  imde- 
cided  what  to  do — whether  to  imdertake  to  raise  the 
balance  or  not.  President  Tebbetts,  Dr.  Coffin,  the 
president  of  the  board,  and  my  associate,  Rayner 
Kelsey,  all  spoke  without  making  an  appeal.  Indeed, 
we  all  felt  that  it  was  useless  to  make  any  further 
effort  to  raise  the  amoimt.  It  was  a  serious  time, 
for  if  we  failed,  what  had  been  done  would  be  lost. 
Then  I  spoke,  and  as  I  closed  a  dear  Friend  whom 
I  had  asked  before  for  $500  rose  and  said,  with 
much  feeling,  that  he  felt  he  ought  to  give  $500. 
It  broke  the  spell,  and  several  others  followed  with 
liberal  subscriptions  who  had  refused  before. 

Rayner  Kelsey  then  came  to  the  front  and  made 
an  impassioned  appeal.  Dr.  Coffin  and  President 
Tebbetts  stood  up,  and  one  after  another  we  made 
remarks.  I  have  seen  many  interesting  scenes  where 
amoiuits  were  raised,  such  as  the  occasion  when 
Moody  raised  $60,000  in  Providence,  Rhode  Island, 
in  a  short  time,  and  the  occasion  when  the  missionary 
board  raised  something  like  $100,000  in  two  hoiu-s, 
but  I  never  saw  a  congregation  so  intensely  in 
earnest  as  was  California  Yearly  Meeting  that  after- 
noon One  after  another  came  forward,  and  with 
deep  emotion  subscribed,  imtil  we  had  only  $12,000 
left.  Then  a  proposition  was  made  to  raise  $5,000 
in  $1,000  subscriptions.     It  was  soon  taken  by  those 

26 


40  2    AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

who  had  already  done  well.  The  first  went  to 
Washington  Hadley  who  had  given  in  the  beginning 
$20,000  on  condition  that  the  $100,000  be  all  raised. 
Soon  all  was  taken,  the  president's  wife,  Imelda 
Tebbetts,  taking  the  last  $1,000.  His  family  had 
already  subscribed  something  like  $4,000.  Then 
it  was  asked  how  many  would  stand  good  for  $50 
provided  it  was  all  taken.  I  believe  50  or  60  stood 
on  that  call,  reducing  the  amount  to  about  $2,000. 
That  was  taken  in  smaller  sums,  most  of  it  by  yoimg 
men  and  young  women,  and  some  of  it  by  the 
children.  Thus,  after  a  session  of  three  or  four 
hours,  the  annoimcement  was  made  that  all  was 
pledged.  I  shall  never  forget  the  deep  feeling  of 
emotion  that  came  over  the  meeting.  Strong  men 
and  women  stood  and  wept.  There  was  not  much 
outward  excitement.  There  was  a  deep  feeling  of 
solemnity.  Even  some  who  were  enemies  to  the 
college  and  had  stayed  away  entered  near  the 
close,  came  under  the  power  that  rested  over  the 
meeting,  and  gave  of  their  means.  It  had  a  imify- 
ing  effect.  It  wotild  be  good  for  others  of  our 
meetings  if  they  could  be  brought  so  imder  the 
power  of  the  Lord  by  giving  of  their  means  to 
build  up  His  Kingdom  that  they  would  be  melted 
together  in  love.  At  the  close  of  the  yearly  meet- 
ing the  board  and  faculty  of  the  college  gave  me  an 
expression  of  their  appreciation  for  the  help  I  had 
given,  which  I  found  among  my  papers  and  which 
I  do  not  remember  having  shown  to  any  person,  un- 
less it  be  my  wife.  It  was  pleasant  to  see  it,  for  I 
had  forgotten  it. 


HELPING  COLLEGES  403 

In  Oregon  and  Washington 

In  a  few  days  we  left  for  Oregon.  We  stopped 
at  San  Jos6,  attended  meeting  on  First-day,  and 
spent  a  day  visiting  the  ruins  of  San  Francisco,  and 
so  on  to  Oregon,  where  we  made  our  home  with  our 
dear  friends,  Jesse  and  Mary  Edwards.  We  had  a 
pleasant  time  and  enjoyed  the  yearly  meeting  very 
much,  yet  I  felt  it  to  be  my  place  to  deal  rather 
plainly  and  to  bear  my  testimony  against  a  spirit  of 
judging  and  fault-finding  that  was  creeping  into  the 
Chiu'ch,  especially  a  dogmatic  theology  which  con- 
demned everyone  who  did  not  see  things  just  as 
others  did.  How  sad  it  is  to  see  those  who  make 
such  high  claim  of  being  led  by  the  Spirit  judging 
and  condemning  others  in  a  most  un-Christian  and 
bigoted  spirit.  You  can  tell  them  as  soon  as  they 
commence.  They  begin  by  finding  fault.  They 
cannot  write  an  article  or  preach  a  sermon  without 
indulging  in  bitterness,  and  they  may  indiilge  in  this 
imtil  I  fear  sometimes  they  verily  believe  they  are 
doing  the  Lord  service  in  persecuting  others.  In- 
deed, they  feel  that  God  has  raised  them  up  to  save 
Zion. 

It  is  but  just  to  say  that  those  who  in- 
dulged in  this  spirit,  with  little  exception,  were  those 
who  had  come  from  other  yearly  meetings  and  had 
not  resided  there  long.  The  body  of  the  meeting 
labored  together  in  much  harmony  and  love,  with 
a  self-sacrificing  spirit.  Especially  were  they  loyal 
to  the  Chtuch  and  the  college  imder  their  care,  and 
I  feel  like  saying  again  what  I  said  in  the  Five  Years' 
Meeting  some  years  ago  when  Pacific  College  was 
imder  consideration:  "I  believe  there  is  not  a 
college  in  America  that  has  done  more  good  with 


404  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

so  small  an  amount  of  means.  Back  there  sits  a  young 
man  who  has  worn  out  his  life  and  here  by  my  side 
sits  a  woman  who  is  laboring  and  toiling  to  build  up 
that  institution. " 

We  left  that  yearly  meeting  with  much  love 
for  the  dear  Friends  who  are  doing  a  noble  work 
on  that  portion  of  owe  Western  coast. 

In  accordance  with  the  request  of  our  committee 
for  evangelistic  and  pastoral  work,  and  in  accord- 
ance with  a  concern  which  we  had  before  leaving 
home,  my  wife  and  I  then  proceeded  on  o\ir  way  to 
the  State  of  Washington  to  attend  the  conference  of 
Friends  in  that  state.  It  was  called  to  be  held  at 
Everett  to  consider  what  they  should  do  about  asking 
for  a  quarterly  meeting,  also  as  to  whether  they 
should  remain  with  Indiana  Yearly  Meeting  or  turn 
to  Oregon.  We  felt  it  would  be  right  to  request 
Oregon  Yearly  Meeting  to  appoint  two  or  three  dele- 
gates to  attend  the  conference  with  us  and  assist  in 
coming  to  the  right  conclusion.  Those  who  were 
appointed  were  a  help,  and  we  worked  together  in 
much  love  and  unity.  Indeed,  the  conference  was  a 
time  of  much  spiritual  blessing,  and  resulted  in  much 
good  in  strengthening  the  Church  and  tmifying  the 
membership  of  the  various  scattered  meetings. 
It  culminated  in  a  request  for  a  quarterly  meeting 
to  be  established  in  the  State  of  Washington  and  to 
be  known  as  Puget  Sound  Quarterly  Meeting,  to 
be  opened  at  Seattle. 

My  wife  and  I  spent  some  time  in  visiting  the 
Friends  in  the  State.  We  found  an  earnest  little 
company  at  Tacoma,  likewise  at  Langley,  Seattle  and 
Everett.  The  latter  was  much  the  largest  meeting. 
Charles  and  May  Replogle  were  doing  a  good  work 


HELPING  COLLEGES  405 

in  keeping  the  Friends  together  in  other  places. 
We  were  much  pleased  with  the  result  of  their  labors. 
At  Seattle  we  found  a  few  earnest  Friends,  who  held 
their  meetings  in  an  old  tent  on  the  side  of  a  hill 
in  an  out-of-the-way  place.  It  was  discouraging. 
Before  leaving  home  I  had  thought  that  it  might  be 
right  to  see  Elbridge  Stuart,  Samuel  Hill  and  Hervey 
Lindley,  three  men  who  were  brought  up  Friends, 
whose  parents  I  had  known,  and  whose  ancestors 
came  from  North  Carolina.  They  had  all  become 
rich. 

Meeting  Elbridge  Stuart  one  day,  I  told  him 
I  woiild  like  to  meet  them  the  next  morning.  He 
made  an  appointment,  and  on  going  to  the  office  I 
found  him  and  Hervey  Lindley  there,  Samuel  Hill 
being  out  of  the  city.  I  began  by  telling  them  about 
the  Friends  there  and  how  they  were  situated,  and 
closed  by  making  an  appeal  to  them  for  help.  I 
found  that  they  were  not  entirely  ignorant  of  Friends 
and  their  needs,  and  that  they  had  talked  the  matter 
over  among  themselves.  When  I  had  finished, 
Elbridge  Stuart  said  something  like  this :  "  We  knew 
what  thee  was  coming  for,  and  we  have  made  up  our 
minds  to  make  this  proposition:  Because  of  our 
love  for  the  Society  of  Friends,  and  in  memory  of 
our  parents,  we  will  buy  a  lot  in  a  suitable  part  of 
the  city,  build  a  meeting-house  on  it,  furnish  it  ready 
for  holding  meetings  in,  and  turn  it  over  to  Indiana 
Yearly  Meeting,  on  two  conditions — first,  that 
Indiana  Yearly  Meeting  will  select  a  suitable  min- 
ister to  reside  here,  and  that  the  yearly  meeting  will 
look  after  the  spiritual  interest  of  the  Church ;  and, 
second,  that  thee  will  come  out  when  the  house  is 
finished  and  attend  the  dedication."     With  a  full 


4o6  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

heart  I  accepted  the  proposition  on  behalf  of  the 
yearly  meeting,  and  agreed  to  their  terms.  Return- 
ing to  the  dear  Friends,  who  were  gathered  at  the 
home  of  William  S.  Sinton,  I  made  my  report.  It 
was  a  time  of  rejoicing,  and  tears  of  joy  were  shed 
at  the  thought  of  having  a  home  to  meet  in. 

These  friends  bought  a  first-class  lot,  built 
a  nice  building,  costing  in  all  about  $12,000,  and 
before  the  meeting-house  was  completed  they 
bought  a  lot  adjoining  for  $3,000  and  erected  a  house 
on  that  for  a  parsonage  that  cost  about  $4,000,  spend- 
ing, in  all,  something  like  $19,000  before  the  time 
came  for  the  dedication.  But  more  about  that 
in  the  next  chapter. 

Having  visited  all  the  meetings  and  having 
become  more  or  less  acquainted  with  the  situation  of 
Friends  in  that  State,  we  returned  home  with  a  feel- 
ing of  love  and  sympathy  for  them  and  with  some 
sense  of  appreciation  of  the  noble  work  they  were 
doing.  The  fields  are  certainly  white  imto  harvest 
and  the  laborers  are  far  too  few.  ^ 


Chapter  XLVI 

FROM  NORTH  CAROLINA  TO  PUGET 
SOUND 

Eastern  Quarterly  Meetings  North  Carolina 

Upon  returning  home  I  foiind  a  letter  awaiting 
me,  urging  that  I  come  to  the  opening  of  the  new- 
meeting-house  at  Rich  Square,  in  the  limits  of  East- 
em    Quarterly    Meeting,     North    Carolina.     There 
had  been  a  separation  in  this  quarterly  meeting  a 
lew  years  before,  and  those  who  went  off  were  mem- 
bers of  the  meeting  called  Cedar  Grove,  where  a  new 
meeting-house  had  been  built,  leaving  the  old  house 
at  Rich  Square  for  the  Friends  who  remained  loyal 
to  the  yearly  meeting.     The  old  house  was  also 
located  to  one  side  of  the  Friends  settlement,  so 
they  went  to  work  and  built  a  new  house  in  a  suit- 
able location.     This  left  them  very  much  in  debt, 
and  they  were  anxious  that  I  should  be  with  them 
at  the  time  of  the  opening  of  the  new  house  and  see 
if  a  sufficient  amount  could  not  be  raised  to  liquidate 
the  debt.     As  they  had  waited  for  me  to  return  from 
the  West  and  had  postponed  the  date  imtil  after 
North  Carolina  Yearly  Meeting,  I  felt  that  it  would 
be  right  to  go,  for  I  had  much  sympathy  for  them 
tmder  the  circumstances,  especially  as  the  quarterly 
meeting  and  yearly  meeting  had  come  to  the  Chris- 
tian conclusion  not  to  take  possession  by  law  of  the 
meeting-house  and  schoolhouse  that  the  Separatists 

(407) 


4o8    AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

occupied,  although  the  title  was  in  the  name  of  the 
yearly  meeting  and  in  a  number  of  other  instances 
of  similar  separations  Friends  in  other  places  had 
taken  possession.  But  the  dear  Friends  of  North 
Carolina  said:  "We  will  not  go  to  law,  but  let  them 
occupy  the  property  and  we  will  endeavor  to  get 
along  without  it."  A  beautiful  spirit  of  brotherly 
love.  It  might  have  been  well  if  the  same  spirit 
had  prevailed  in  other  separations  rather  than 
going  to  war  before  the  world  and  fighting  through 
the  courts,  even  if  they  did  secure  their  property.  It 
is  better  to  suffer  for  Christ's  sake.  The  Master, 
when  reviled,  reviled  not  again. 

So,  obtaining  a  minute  from  our  meeting  to 
attend  North  Carolina  Yearly  Meeting  and  for  other 
religious  service  within  its  limits,  we  were  soon  on  our 
way.  We  have  always  enjoyed  meeting  with  our 
dear  friends  of  that  yearly  meeting,  but  in  1906  we 
had  an  unusually  good  yearly  meeting.  The  sub- 
jects coming  before  the  meeting  were  of  great 
importance.  It  was  largely  attended,  and  many  of 
the  yoimg  people  manifested  an  interest  and  took 
part  in  the  business  of  the  meeting,  which  is  a 
healthy  sign  for  the  future.  After  the  yearly  meet- 
ing we  visited  a  few  meetings  on  our  way,  stopping 
a  few  days  among  the  meetings  in  and  around  Golds- 
boro,  then  going  to  Rich  Square,  where  we  found  the 
house  spoken  of  above  ready  to  be  opened  and  set 
apart  for  religious  service.  It  was  a  fine  day.  We 
had  a  large  crowd.  Near  the  close  of  the  service  I 
made  an  appeal  for  fimds,  which  were  subscribed 
without  much  trouble,  and  Friends  felt  much  en- 
couraged because  the  debt  had  been  met.  We 
held  meetings  there  until  after  the  next  First-day 


PUGET  SOUND  409 

morning  meeting.  In  the  afternoon  of  that  day  we 
went  over  to  the  other  neighborhood  and  had  a  very 
large  meeting  in  the  Baptist  meeting-house,  nearby 
the  meeting-house  of  the  Separatists.  The  Metho- 
dist minister  offering  their  house  for  a  night  meeting, 
we  held  one  there  at  night,  several  of  the  Separatists 
coming  in. 

From  there  we  went  on  to  Belvidere,  to  the 
home  of  our  dear  friend,  Josiah  Nicholson,  with 
whom  I  had  made  my  home,  in  the  same  house, 
nearly  forty  years  before.  We  attended  Piney  Wood 
Meeting  on  First-day,  visited  the  Upriver  Meeting, 
and  held  a  few  meetings  in  the  hall  of  the  academy 
at  Belvidere.  It  was  truly  a  time  of  spiritual  bless- 
ing as  we  mingled  with  these  Friends  once  more. 
Feeling  our  work  done,  we  returned  home  in  time 
for  our  yearly  meeting,  glad  to  be  settled  down  in 
the  home  again.  The  year  1906  had  been  a  busy 
year.  I  had  crossed  the  Rocky  Mountains  four 
times  and  the  Alleghenies  six  times,  attended  five 
yearly  meetings,  working  in  all  of  them  more  or  less. 
The  retrospect  was  pleasant. 

Puget  Sound  Quarterly  Meeting 

I  have  already  spoken  of  the  conference  held  at 
Everett,  in  the  State  of  Washington,  in  1906,  and 
the  decision  in  regard  to  requesting  a  quarterly  meet- 
ing. It  was  sent  to  Winchester  Quarter,  united 
with  by  that  meeting,  and  forwarded  to  the  yearly 
meeting  of  1906,  which  made  the  following  minute: 
"Minute  27:  Winchester  Meeting  was  united  in 
forwarding  to  us  the  following  minutes  from  a  con- 
ference of  Everett,  Seattle  and  Tacoma  Monthly 
Meetings  in  the  State  of  Washington,  held  Seventh 


41  o     AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

month  22,  1906,  also  a  minute  from  Everett  Monthly 
Meeting,  dated  Eighth  month  6,  requesting  a 
quarterly  meeting  to  be  composed  of  Everett,  Seattle 
and  Tacoma  Monthly  Meetings,  and  to  be  known 
as  Puget  Soimd  Quarterly  Meeting,  to  be  opened  at 
10.30  A.  M.  on  the  first  Seventh-day  in  the  First 
month  of  1907,  or  at  such  time  as  meets  the  approval 
of  the  committee  appointed  to  attend  the  opening. " 
"Minute  64:  The  Friends  appointed  to  produce 
names  to  attend  the  opening  of  Puget  Sound 
Quarterly  Meeting  propose  Allen  Jay,  Esther  Cook, 
Charle  Replogle  and  Naomi  H.  Jay,  with  whom 
the  meeting  imites. "  As  I  have  already  said,  our 
three  friends  in  Seattle,  who  were  building  a  house 
for  the  meeting  and  a  parsonage,  had  not  com- 
pleted their  work.  Our  committee  thought  it  best 
to  wait  until  the  house  in  Seattle  was  ready,  so 
we  postponed  the  opening  till  Ninth  month  14, 
1907,  at  Seattle,  Washington. 

The  meeting  of  ministry  and  oversight  was 
appointed  and  held  the  day  before  at  3  P.  M.  in  a 
tent,  as  the  meeting-house  was  not  quite  ready. 
Here  I  wish  to  say  that  our  dear  friends  had  done 
all  they  could  to  have  everything  ready,  and  the 
night  before  the  opening  Elbridge  Stuart,  with  a 
number  of  other  men,  worked  until  midnight  to  have 
all  completed.  The  meeting-house  is  a  beautiful 
plain  bidlding.  Colonial  in  style,  veneered  with  dark 
red  brick.  It  is  84  feet  long,  42  feet  wide,  with  a 
porch  9  feet  wide  across  the  front.  The  gable  roof 
extends  over  the  porch  and  is  supported  by  four 
large  colxmins.  There  is  a  vestibule,  with  side  doors 
opening  into  the  audience  room.  The  meeting  room 
has  a  raised  floor  and  fine  wainscoting,  and  is  lighted 


PUGET  SOUND  411 

with  electricity.  There  is  a  nice,  good-sized  room 
in  the  rear  for  Bible  school  and  other  purposes. 
The  building  is  heated  by  a  furnace,  and  neatly 
carpeted. 

Of  our  committee,  Charles  Replogle,  Esther  Cook 
and  myself  were  present.  Oregon  Yearly  Meeting 
appointed  eight  fraternal  delegates  to  attend  the 
meeting,  six  of  whom  were  present,  Jesse  Edwards, 
Mary  E.  K.  Edwards,  John  Frederick  Hanson,  S. 
Alice  Hanson,  Calva  Martin  and  Frank  Martin; 
also  Francis  K.  Jones,  acting  president  of  Pacific 
College,  was  in  attendance.  The  meeting  gave  to 
these  Friends  a  warm  welcome,  asking  them  to  feel 
at  home  and  take  part  in  the  deliberations.  Their 
sympathy  and  counsel  were  very  helpful  and  en- 
couraging, expressing,  as  they  did,  so  much  good 
will  and  desire  for  the  prosperity  of  the  meeting. 
The  meeting  was  opened  with  a  period  of  silent  wor- 
ship, in  which  the  Lord's  presence  was  graciously 
manifested.  A  sermon  was  preached  and  several 
Friends  gave  brief  messages  of  Gospel  love.  "  Rock 
of  Ages"  was  sung  with  much  feeling,  all  hearts  being 
filled  with  gratitude  and  praise.  The  clerk  of  our 
committee,  Esther  Cook,  then  read  Minutes  27  and 
64  of  the  printed  minutes  of  Indiana  Yearly  Meeting 
of  Friends,  held  at  Richmond,  Indiana,  Ninth  month 
2,  1906,  authorizing  the  establishment  of  the  quar- 
terly meeting. 

Then  a  report  from  a  conference  of  delegates 
from  the  three  monthly  meetings  was  read,  in  which 
they  placed  in  nomination  the  name  of  Elmer 
Harden,  of  Everett,  for  presiding  clerk,  and  Sarah 
Abigail  Thomas,  of  Tacoma,  for  recording  clerk, 
which  was  imited  with,  they  being  appointed  and 


412       AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

called  to  the  table,  taking  charge  of  the  business. 
The  three  monthly  meetings  were  represented  by 
their  delegates,  and  responded  to  their  names  when 
called.  Out  of  a  membership  of  290  there  were 
present  212  members.  In  the  afternoon  session  the 
state  of  the  Society  was  considered,  and  the  outlook 
was  hopeftd.  The  queries  were  read  and  representa- 
tives appointed  to  yearly  meeting.  The  nominating 
committee  submitted  their  report  as  follows:  For 
treasurer,  William  Swan  Sinton;  for  statistical  sec- 
retary. May  Replogle ;  for  Bible  school  superinten- 
dent, William  Brown;  temperance,  Dorothy  Lee; 
peace,  Moses  Votaw;  foreign  missions,  Hosetta 
Sinton ;  vice-president  of  Christian  Endeavor,  Hattie 
Davey.  Puget  Sound  Quarterly  Meeting  was  now 
established,  and  while  feeling  a  sense  of  added 
responsibility,  we  believe  they  took  up  the  work  with 
a  courageous  spirit,  proposing  by  the  grace  and 
leadership  of  the  great  Head  of  the  Church  to  stand 
with  their  sister  quarterly  meetings  and  be  faithful 
to  their  calling,  publishing  the  good  tidings  of  the 
glorious  Gospel  of  our  God,  and  upholding  the 
standard  of  Friends  in  the  great  Northwest. 

First-day  morning  at  11  o'clock  the  audience 
room  was  well  filled.  After  a  time  of  silence,  Edgar 
Williams  with  a  few  appropriate  remarks  opened  the 
meeting  and  read  the  Scriptures,  hymns  were  sung, 
Charles  Replogle  offered  prayer,  and  I  was  led  to 
preach  a  practical  sermon  from  Romans  1:16, 
"I  am  not  ashamed  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ."  The 
people  gave  close  attention  and  received  the  message 
with  responsive  hearts.  A  subscription  was  taken 
amounting  to  about  $3,000.  Then,  with  solemn, 
fervent  prayer,  the  house  was  dedicated  to  the  Lord 
and  His  service. 


PUGET  SOUND  413 

It  is  proper  here  to  say  that  the  evangeHstic  com- 
mittee of  Indiana  Yearly  Meeting  nearly  a  year 
before  this  had  selected  J.  Edgar  Williams  and 
placed  him  at  Seattle  as  pastor  of  the  meeting  there, 
and  to  his  energy  and  devotion  to  the  work  was  due 
in  great  measure  the  fact  that  the  buildings  were 
ready  at  the  time  they  were.  He  had  taken  a  great 
interest  in  building  up  the  Church  also,  and  we  can 
but  hope  that  his  labors  may  continue  to  be  blessed 
to  the  enlargement  of  the  Church  in  that  place  and 
in  gathering  a  strong  and  Hving  meeting  of  those  who 
shotdd  believe  with  us. 

At  the  close  of  the  quarterly  meeting  I  turned  my . 
face  once  more  towards  home,  reaching  there  in  time 
for  the  yearly  meeting  of  1907  and  the  Five  Years' 
Meeting  which  was  to  follow  a  few  days  later. 

We  reached  home  a  few  days  before  yearly  meet- 
ing, and  found  Friends  looking  forward  with  interest 
to  what  proved  to  be  a  very  favored  yearly  meeting. 
There  were  present  twenty  ministering  Friends  with 
minutes  from  other  yearly  meetings.  Among  these 
were  Sarah  Jane  Lurey,  from  North  Somerset  and 
Wiltshire  Monthly  Meetings,  England,  and  Eliza- 
beth Beaven  Rutter,  a  minister  from  Shaftsbury  and 
Sherborne  Monthly  Meetings,  England,  also  Bunji 
Kida,  an  evangelist  from  Tsuchiura,  Japan.  I 
believe  North  Carolina,  Baltimore,  New  York  and 
Canada  were  the  only  yearly  meetings  in  America 
not  represented.  The  business  of  the  yearly  meet- 
ing was  conducted  with  much  harmony  and  brotherly 
love.  Our  report  of  the  opening  of  the  new  quarterly 
meeting  in  Seattle,  called  Puget  Sound,  was  received 
with  much  interest.  During  the  course  of  the  meet- 
ing we  were  brought  into  a  feeling  of  S5rmpathy  and 


414  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

love  as  we  listened  to  a  very  appropriate  memorial 
of  oiir  dear  friend,  Charies  A.  Francisco,  who  had 
been  one  of  otir  most  efficient  reading  clerks  for  a 
number  of  years.  He  held  the  position  of  one  of 
the  yearly  meeting  correspondents,  and  was  useful 
in  various  departments  of  Church  work.  It  was 
also  felt  that  the  message  from  London  Yearly  Meet- 
ing was  very  fresh  and  appropriate  to  our  needs. 
The  yearly  meeting  closed  on  Second-day,  Ninth 
month  30,  1907. 


Chapter  XLVII 
THE  FIVE  YEARS'  MEETING  OF  1907 

Much  attention  was  now  centered  on  the  con- 
vening of  the  second  Five  Years'  Meeting,  which 
was  called  to  meet  Tenth  month  15,  1907,  at  7.30 
P.  M.,  in  the  yearly  meeting-house.  It  was  felt  to  be 
an  important  meeting,  and  Friends  met  tmder  a 
solemn  sense  of  the  responsibiUty  that  rested  upon 
them.  One  htmdred  and  ninety-fotir  delegates  were 
sent  up  by  the  American  yearly  meetings,  all  of 
them  being  represented  except  Ohio  and  Philadel- 
phia, the  latter  expressing  its  deep  interest  by  a 
number  of  its  members  being  present,  who  were 
warmly  welcomed  in  our  midst,  it  being  known  that 
owing  to  the  isolated  condition  of  Philadelphia 
Yearly  Meeting,  it  could  not  officially  appoint  dele- 
gates. Almost  all  of  the  delegates  were  present. 
The  places  of  the  few  who  were  absent  were  filled  by 
the  alternates.  It  was  pleasant  to  look  over  the 
meeting  and  recognize  that  I  had  met  them  all  before 
in  other  places,  which  gave  additional  pleastire  to 
welcoming  them  at  Richmond.  In  addition  to  the 
above,  London  Yearly  Meeting  sent  seven,  and 
Dublin  Yearly  Meeting  five  fraternal  delegates,  who 
added  to  the  usefulness  and  strength  of  the  Five 
Years'  Meeting. 

It  is  not  my  purpose  to  give  an  account  of  this 
memorable  meeting,  for  any  short  account  would 
fail  to  do  the  subject  justice.     Besides,  there  has 

(415) 


4i6   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

been  a  full  and  clear  account  of  the  proceedings 
published,  and  the  papers  which  were  read  on 
various  subjects  that  came  before  the  meeting  have 
been  put  into  book  form  and  all  published  under  the 
title,  "Minutes  and  Proceedings  of  the  Five  Years' 
Meeting,  1907."  This  book  should  be  read  by  our 
members  generally,  especially  our  younger  members, 
that  they  may  learn  of  the  work  of  the  Church. 
They  should  feel  that  we  are  making  history,  and  in 
order  to  be  able  to  fill  their  places,  they  should  be 
acquainted  with  what  is  going  forward  in  the 
present  day.  For  the  first  time  the  Five  Years' 
Meeting  was  called  upon  to  consider  the  propriety 
of  setting  up  a  new  yearly  meeting,  to  be  known  as 
Nebraska  Yearly  Meeting,  to  meet  at  Central  City, 
in  that  State,  and  to  be  composed  of  five  quarterly 
meetings  belonging  to  Iowa  Yearly  Meeting,  i.  e., 
Hiawatha,  with  a  membership  of  112;  Platte  Val- 
ley, membership,  633;  Union,  membership,  121; 
Spring  Bank,  membership,  336;  Mt.  Vernon,  mem- 
bership, 108;  making  the  total  membership  1,310. 
A  committee  of  two  from  each  delegation  was  ap- 
pointed to  take  the  matter  tmder  consideration  and 
report  to  a  future  sitting.  This  committee,  after 
considering  the  matter,  reported  in  favor  of  granting 
the  request,  and  proposed  that  Allen  Jay,  David 
Hadley,  Eliza  H.  Carey,  Eliza  C.  Armstrong  and 
John  F.  Hanson  be  appointed  to  attend  the  opening 
of  this  yearly  meeting  Sixth  month  4,  1908. 

Another  Bereavement 

While  in  common  with  other  Friends  our  family 
had  looked  forward  to  the  time  when  we  would  meet 
our  dear  friends  and  have  a  number  of  them  in  our 


FIVE  YEARS'  MEETING  OF  1907        417 

home,  yet  we  were  to  be  disappointed,  for  on  Sec- 
ond-day word  came  that  our  son-in-law,  A.  D. 
Titsworth,  of  Canton,  Ohio,  had  died.  His  remains 
were  brought  to  our  home,  and  the  funeral  took 
place  on  First-day  afternoon.  Tenth  month  24,  1907, 
during  the  time  of  the  Five  Years'  Meeting.  It  was 
largely  attended.  This  sad  event  cast  a  gloom  over 
OUT  home  and  prevented  us  from  having  many  of 
our  friends  with  us.  Yet  many  of  them  called,  and 
I  was  able  to  attend  a  number  of  the  sessions.  I 
shall  pass  over  this  important  occasion  by  simply 
saying  that  whenever  present  I  felt  that  the  Master 
was  with  us,  and  that  Friends  generally  returned 
to  their  homes  feeling  that  the  Chtirch  had  been 
strengthened  and  unified  during  the  days  that  were 
spent  together. 

Nebraska  T early  Meeting 

As  the  time  drew  near  for  the  opening  of  the 
new  yearly  meeting  in  Nebraska,  our  committee 
arranged  to  meet  at  Central  City  the  day  before  the 
opening  of  said  yearly  meeting,  and  on  the  day  ap- 
pointed the  yearly  meeting  was  opened.  All  the 
committee  were  present.  We  met  in  the  morning 
before  the  opening  and  had  a  season  of  prayer,  after 
which  the  meeting  of  ministry  and  oversight  was 
opened.  It  was  interesting  to  see  a  number  of 
younger  and  middle-aged  people  present.  The  next 
morning,  the  4th  of  Sixth  month,  the  meeting  proper 
was  organized  in  the  college  chapel,  which  was  on 
the  third  floor.  It  was  a  pleasant  room  when 
reached,  but  was  not  large  enough.  Dtiring  the 
season  of  worship  preceding  the  opening  many 
prayers  were  offered  and  words  of  comfort  and  en- 

27 


41 8   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

couragement  were  spoken.  The  committee  then 
called  for  nomination  of  clerks,  when  Dr.  Cyrus  W. 
Dixon  was  nominated  for  that  place.  He  came 
forward,  the  minute  of  our  appointment  was  then 
read  as  a  portion  of  the  opening  minute,  and  in  a 
few  moments  the  yearly  meeting  was  ready  for 
business.  A  number  of  Friends  who  were  present 
had  been  active  members  in  Iowa  Yearly  Meeting 
or  others  of  the  older  yearly  meetings,  so  that  they 
were  soon  ready  to  proceed  with  the  work.  It  was 
truly  encouraging  to  see  the  business  conducted 
with  life  and  inspiration,  and  it  was  especially 
gratifying  to  see  so  many  yoiuig  Friends  as  active 
members  on  important  committees  Going  into 
one  of  the  class-rooms  one  day  between  sessions, 
I  found  three  young  women  writing  three  epistles, 
one  to  London,  one  to  Dublin,  and  the  other  a 
general  epistle  to  the  American  Yearly  Meetings. 
Upon  inquiry  I  learned  that  one  of  the  writers  was 
a  teacher  and  the  other  two  were  students  at- 
tending the  college.  There  was  great  interest 
manifested  on  the  subject  of  education,  and  much 
liberality  was  shown  in  providing  for  the  needs  of 
the  college.  The  foreign  mission  work  had  warm 
advocates  in  this  yearly  meeting.  Indeed  there 
were  four  or  five  missionaries  present  who  had 
actually  been  in  the  field  and  who  were  home  for 
rest  who  belonged  to  this  new  yearly,  meeting.  The 
missionary  meeting  was  doubly  interesting  as  we 
listened  to  those  who  had  been  in  the  field.  They 
spoke  but  little  of  their  trials  or  their  privations, 
although  one  of  them  had  lost  one  of  her  legs  while 
in  the  field.  She  only  spoke,  however,  of  the  joy  of 
the  work  and  of  the  hope  that  some  day  she  might 


FIVE  YEARS'  MEETING  OF  1907      419 

be  able  to  return.  A  yearly  meeting  that  has  such 
devoted  young  people  has  cause  to  be  thankful,  and 
its  light  will  shine. 

After  the  close  of  the  yearly  meeting  our  com- ' 
mittee  felt  that  we  should  report  to  the  next  Five 
Years'  Meeting  that  we  believed  it  had  been  opened 
"in  accordance  with  the  mind  of  truth,"  and  our 
clerk,  Eliza  C.  Armstrong,  was  requested  to  prepare 
such  a  report  and  send  it  to  the  clerk  of  the  Five 
Years'  Meeting,  to  be  preserved  and  presented  at 
that  time. 

Fisit  to  Puget  Sound 

During  this  summer  the  evangelistic,  pastoral 
and  church  extension  committee  of  Indiana  Yearly 
Meeting  felt  that  it  might  be  of  advantage  to  the 
work  if  two  of  our  number  should  visit  the  meetings 
of  Puget  Sound  Quarterly  Meeting  and  labor  for 
their  help  and  encouragement,  that  they  might 
preserve  unity  and  harmony  throughout  the  quar- 
terly meeting.  So,  soon  after  returning  home  from 
Nebraska,  I  prepared  to  take  another  joiuney  across 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  our  dear  friend,  Joseph  A. 
Goddard,  of  Muncie,  going  with  me.  It  was  a  long, 
hot  journey. 

We  worked  together  in  much  harmony,  visiting 
all  the  meetings  and  helping  as  the  way  opened  for  it. 
In  addition  we  visited  the  meetings  in  Victoria, 
British  Columbia,  had  a  meeting  in  the  afternoon 
for  the  older  people,  and  one  at  night  for  all  classes. 
After  the  night  meeting  we  returned  to  Seattle, 
some  75  miles.  The  boat  was  so  crowded  that  we 
had  to  sit  up  all  night.  We  were  present  at  the 
opening  of  Friends  new  meeting-house  in  Tacoma. 


420   AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ALLEN  JAY 

Having  done  all  that  we  saw  the  way  open  for,  we 
returned  home  by  way  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Rail- 
road, enjoying  the  grand  scenery  very  much.  It 
'was  pleasant  to  be  in  the  quiet  and  rest  of  home  once 
more,  where  I  remained  until  after  yearly  meeting. 

Central  City  Meeting-House 

Soon  after  the  close  of  yearly  meeting,  our 
Friends  of  Central  City,  Nebraska,  began  to  urge 
,  me  to  come  out  to  their  assistance  in  raising  funds 
to  pay  for  their  new  meeting-house.  As  I  have 
said,  the  chapel  in  the  college  building  was  unhandy 
to  get  to  and  entirely  too  small;  so,  with  the  zeal 
that  had  characterized  their  efforts,  they  went  to 
work  and  rebuilt  and  enlarged  their  house  in 
Central  City  and  fixed  up  a  nice  parsonage,  at  a  cost 
of  some  $4,000  or  $5,000.  They  had  selected  the 
last  of  Second  month,  1909,  as  the  time  to  set  the 
new  house  apart  for  religious  service. 

I  went  out  to  them,  as  they  requested.  Upon 
reaching  Chicago  I  found  it  was  ^raining  hard.  Next 
morning  when  we  crossed  the  Mississippi  River  it 
was  snowing.  It  soon  turned  into  a  blizzard,  which 
proved  to  be  the  worst  one  I  ever  saw.  We  made 
slow  progress.  Indeed  at  times  it  seemed  as  though 
we  should  not  get  through.  We  did  not  reach  our 
dining  car  until  afternoon.  The  water  pipes  froze 
in  the  Pullman  sleeper  and  burst,  the  water  run- 
ning all  over  the  floor.  About  11  P.M.  we  reached 
Omaha,  five  hours  late.  The  wires  were  down,  and 
we  could  not  send  any  word  ahead;  so  when  I 
reached  Central  City  at  3  o'clock  in  the  morning 
they  had  given  me  up,  but  through  the  kindness  of 
a  stranger  I  soon  found  a  room.     Next  morning  a 


FIVE  YEARS'  MEETING  OF  1907     421 

good  home  was  provided  for  me,  and  for  eight  or  ten 
days  I  was  kept  busy.  On  First-day  morning,  at 
the  time  of  the  dedication,  a  large  crowd  was  present. 
They  needed  about  $2,100  to  meet  the  debt  on  the 
meeting-house  and  parsonage.  During  the  day  we 
obtained  about  $3,100,  with  the  understanding  that 
the  extra  $1,000  should  go  to  the  college  debt.  It 
was  a  great  day  for  the  Fr  ends  of  Central  City. 
But  I  will  not  try  to  describe  it,  for  others  have 
written  of  it  in  the  Nebraska  Friend  and  other 
Friends  papers.  The  series  of  meetings  resulted  in 
much  good.  At  their  close  I  bade  farewell  to  the 
dear  Friends  of  Nebraska  with  a  deep  appreciation 
of  their  devotion  to  the  cause  of  the  Master,  and 
with  the  belief  that  a  blessing  woidd  attend  that 
yearly  meeting  in  coming  years. 

Conclusion 

This  brings  me  to  the  close,  and  now,  as  I  have 
passed  my  seventy-eighth  year,  I  lay  down  my  pen 
for  younger  fingers  to  take  up,  and,  turning  my 
face  towards  the  western  sunset  of  life,  I  grasp  my 
staff  to  continue  the  journey  to  the  end,  leaving  that 
time  in  the  hands  of  Him  who  has  been  with  me 
thus  far  and  who  "  doeth  all  things  well. " 


A  History 

OF 

The  Society  of  Friends 
in  America 

By 
ALLEN   C.   THOMAS,  A.M. 

HAVERFORD  COLLEGS 
AND 

RICHARD  H.  THOMAS,  M.D. 

BALTIMORE,  MD. 


NEW  AND  REVISED   EDITION,    1905 

Brought  down  to  date  and  including  valu- 
able statistics  and  information  in  regard  to 
the  Society  of  Friends  in  America. 


"  A  work  on  '  The  History  of  the  Society 
of  Friends  in  America,'  which  is  likely  for 
many  days  to  be  a  standard  text-book  on  the 
subject." — Tht  London  Friend. 

"  We  have  read  it  with  interest.  It  gives 
evidence  of  much  research  and  of  a  disposi- 
tion to  observe  the  impartiality  of  faithful 
historians." — The  Friend,  Philadelphia. 


I2mo.    Cloth.    Price,  $1.00  Net 

(Postase,  15  Cents) 


THE  JOHN  C.  WINSTON  CO. 

PHILADELPHIA 


JESUS  OF 
NAZARETH 

IN  THE 

LIGHT  OF  TO-DAY 

By  ELBERT  RUSSELL 

Professor  in  Earlham  College 
Author  oi  "  The  Parables  ot  Jesus' 

AN  INTERESTING  MODERN  VIEW-POINT 

In  this  book  Professor  Russell  makes  "an 
effort  to  show  Jesus  in  His  saving  truth  and 
power  to  those  who  may  be  alienated  from 
the  Christ  of  past  generations."  The  result 
is  clear  and  impressive. 

The  author  considers  the  character  of  the 
Saviour  reverently  yet  without  passion.  As- 
suming the  standpoint  of  the  intelligent  man 
of  to-day,  — "who  thinks  in  terms  of  the 
evolutionary  philosophy  and  who  presup- 
poses the  commonly  accepted  results  of 
Biblical  criticism" —  he  makes  a  fresh  inter- 
pretation, simple  and  popular  in  method  and 
positive  and  religiously  helpful  in  its  result, 
of  the  historical  character  and  spiritual 
significance  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 

12mo.   5i  by  7f  inckes.    n2  pages.    Silk  Qotli 

Price  60  Cents  Net 

Postage  6  Cents 

THE  JOHN  C.  WINSTON  CO. 
PHILADELPHIA.  PA. 


The  Quaker 
in  the  Forum 


By  AMELIA  MOTT  GUMMERE 

Author  of  "The  Quaker  :  A  Study  in  Costume," 
"  Witchcraft  and  Quakerism,"  etc. 

A  New  and  Interesting  Historical  Study 

Mrs.  Gummere  has  taken  up  in  this  work 
the  study  of  an  aspect  of  Quakerism  which 
has  hitherto  received  Httle  attention. 

Quakerism  has  made  an  impression  up- 
on the  two  great  EngHsh  speaking  nations 
of  the  globe  in  a  way  that  is  not  yet  fully 
appreciated,  although  the  subject  is  begin- 
ning to  receive  more  careful  attention  at 
the  hands  of  competent  historians.  The 
author  is  concerned  not  with  the  impress 
made  by  the  Quaker  upon  theology  or 
philosophy,  great  as  it  1ms  been,  but  with 
nis  influence  upon  social  history.  The 
unique  feature  of  the  Quaker's  career  has 
been  that  he  largely  succeeded  in  living 
out  his  unwritten  creed  in  a  philosophy 
that  made  belief  a  conduct  of  life  and 
manifested  to  the  world  its  practicability 
as  a  working  theory. 

The  subject  is  treated  in  a  manner  to  interest  students 
of  social  history  and  is  written  in  a  style  attractive  to  the 
general  reader.  This  work  contains  fourteen  interesting 
historical  illustrations,  some  of  which  have  not  before 
been  published. 

Price  $1.50  Net 

THE  JOHN  C.  yiftlMSTON  CO. 

PHILADELPHIA 


/^3 


THE  LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

Santa  Barbara 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
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